


Stephanie Meyer Hit Me Up

by Creepyjacobisbad



Series: Twilight Works [1]
Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Attempted Suicide, F/M, Fix it fic of sorts, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, Motorcycles, Werewolves, birb, don't worry children im fixing it, flowershop au, jacob isn't gonna be creepy promise, new moon, not really edward hate but he's not looked kindly upon, sorta - Freeform, stephanie meyer can't hurt us anymore, twilight - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-04-12 06:12:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19126231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creepyjacobisbad/pseuds/Creepyjacobisbad
Summary: What if Edward never came back? What if Bella accepted this, and moved on? What if Jacob wasn't so pushy? Questions I found myself asking as I watched Twilight New Moon for the first time (yes in 2019 i'm sLoW okay?) and is exactly what this story is exploring. I really wanted Jacob's and Bella's relationship to bloom with the potential it had, and for her to have interests outside of.. boys, I guess. If you want that kind of stuff too, then Voila! She's here. Contains swears but I'm not changing the rating.EDIT: i love this story so much, so I'm going back and editing all of it, just bumping it up really. nothing drastic will change, but it will be hella more detailed (i hope) so uh. yeahkay bye!





	1. He's Gone

How had her life become so empty so quickly?

She'd thought she'd led a good life. One fulfilling, and exciting.

Then Edward left.

Everything had come crashing down around her.

She'd never realized how... little she did outside of her relationship with Edward.

She wasn't a part of any clubs, she didn't play sports (mostly because of her own clumsiness) hell, she didn't even have any friends. Sure, she used to sit with kids at lunch, but more out of obligation than real attachment.

She'd stopped sitting with them but. She didn't, she wasn't even sure she _liked_ the people she'd hung out with. How fucked up was _that_? She'd just used them as filler between her time with Edward.

That's what her life had been for a year; time with him, and time without. She'd had _nothing else_.

She hated it. She hated herself for getting so involved in a relationship she'd lost herself as a person.

It was just- she'd been so scared. Of being alone, of not having anyone, while also not really wanting the people that flocked to her.

He'd seemed perfect; not only beautiful, but something to fight for. Everyone else fought for her like she was a pretty prize, but he didn't. _She_ had to chase _him_. He'd felt special because of that.

Now that was gone, and all that remained was a long, thin scar on her bicep.

Because, on top of everything else, he'd _hurt_ her. First by throwing her across a room, and then by leaving.

Just, poof. Gone.

Dimly, she thought, shouldn't she resent him for this? For making her this dependent on him? But she only had herself to blame.

She'd brought this upon herself, after all.

It was her fault he left. She wasn't good enough; she was too fragile, too human. Ever since her birthday she'd been terrified of that fact.

She would age, she would get sick, she would die.

If only she could have convinced him to change her. Maybe then he would have stayed. But then again, maybe he refused to do it because the idea of being with her forever disgusted him too much to even humour it.

Oh fuck, he'd hated her all along, hadn't he? That's what this was really about. He was just waiting for an excuse to leave, and she'd handed it to him on a silver platter.

She was stupid. So, incredibly, _fucking_ stupid.

She didn't deserve food, or friends, or even her dad, who woke her from her night terrors. He should just leave her to them, let them take her away. She was just a fucking burden.

Fuck. _Fuck!_

Bella Swan spent two months with these thoughts swirling on loop. Switching from longing, to pity, to blame. It was an awful cycle to live in, and to watch. Charlie hated seeing his daughter suffer like that.

He wished he'd done more to interfere. He'd known the Cullen kids were... well, not trouble exactly, but fickle. Untrustworthy. He should've fought for his daughter. Should have made an effort to keep her safe. But he hadn't, and they couldn't escape what had happened. They just had to deal with it.

And sitting in your room sulking for two months was not dealing with it. He had to take initiative. He had to push his daughter into a better place, because she clearly didn't have the strength to do it herself.

Ideally, he'd take her to a therapist. But, there were none in town, or even the area, really. So, next best thing: getting Bella out of the house and connecting with people again.

Not with her.. friends. She'd never seemed close to them, or to even enjoy their company. She needed a fresh start. Where do you get a fresh start in a small town? Hell if Charlie knew. Okay, okay, so option three then.

Get a job.

"Dad, no." Bella was horrified merely by the suggestion.

"Look, Bell, I know it won't be easy. I wouldn't dream of putting you somewhere fast paced, or even that required a lot of work. But you need something to keep you busy. You can't just keep sitting in your room by yourself. It's not, it's not healthy." Charlie faltered, losing his steam. He was never good at putting up a fight, preferring to shrug things off, or let her make her own decisions. But she needed a parent, so he was going to parent her, dammit.

Bella's glare at her cereal intensified. "I'm fine, dad." she gritted out. "I don't need you taking care of me." chewed up nails scratched against the table as she curled her hands into a defensive fist.

"Don't bullshit me, Isabella." Charlie snapped. She finally looked up. "I know it sounds hard and scary, but I really do believe it'll help you get better. You can't really enjoy living like this, Bells."

She bit hard on her cheek, and looked down again. The gray light from the window only served to highlight her lanky form, sunken eyes, and oily hair. She was falling apart, and it made Charlie feel sick.

"I'm fine, dad."

Charlie wanted to storm off, and let her make her own shitty decisions, but he didn't. He loved her, and she needed to know that.

"I'm doing this because I care, and because I don't want you to waste away. Please, Bella, please consider it." he begged, leaning farther into his backwards chair. His own hand clenched around his beer can, unsure whether or not he should reach out.

She trembled in her seat, silent.

Right before he was about to give up, he heard her mumble.

"What? I didn't catch that." he leaned in even further, if that was possible, angling to hear whatever she said. 

Bella took a deep breath. "Does Mrs. Walker still run that dinky old flower shop?"

Charlie startled, then smiled wide. Well, wide for Charlie. "Yeah, she does. Want me to give her a call?"

"If it's no trouble." Bella fidgeted with the long sleeves of her stained, rank old hoodie. 

"It's not, I swear. Thank you, Bella." Charlie straightened up, trying to think where he'd put the woman's number. 

She shrugged, but he saw her mouth lift up too.

He moved around the table, and gave her a tight side hug. "I'll give her a call, see what she says. I think you'll really like working there. It's all peaceful and shit."

"Sounds nice," Bella offered, returning the hug.

Charlie pulled her in tight, hand wrapping around her thin frame. She'd definitely lost weight, but that was okay. It was all okay. They were going to be okay.

"Okay, uh, I gotta go to work now." he glanced at the clock on the wall across from them. "You think you can make it to school today?"

Bella sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I've gone everyday this week. No point in breaking the streak."

He grinned anew and pressed a quick kiss to her messy, greasy hair. "Okay, see you tonight. Love you."

"Love you too, dad."


	2. it's Been Three Months Let Her Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dragging out the Edward angst that much, we're skipping right to recovery.

Well, school was still hell. She hadn't brought herself to sit with her old, uh, acquaintances. She was still too scared. But, she had an interview with Mrs. Walker, and she... wasn't scared of it.

She... she was actually looking forward to it. Mrs. Walker had always been really nice to her when she'd visited as a kid; not pushing her for conversation like some of the other old ladies, but making pleasant small talk when Bella offered it. She'd also had some damn good caramel candies on her.

So, this could, be good? Maybe?

Hopefully.

Bella was hopeful. It was nice. She liked feeling not sad.

Anyways, interview.

Bella had no idea what to do for this interview. None at all.

She'd told Charlie this, and he assured her this wouldn't be a normal job interview. Martha had been informed on her situation, and it was more a formality than anything else.

That had calmed her nerves, but they reawakened with a vengeance when the bell above the door chimed.

The small shop, like everything else in Forks, was small, and a greenish grey. The walls were wood paneling, though thanks to the abundance of windows, there wasn't much of it. Four rows of plants directed her towards the counter on the back wall. She ran her fingers along flower petals as she walked down the aisle, looking around. No one else was in the store, though she couldn't say she was surprised. It was a rainy Wednesday, certainly not a flower kind of day.

Then again, what was a flower kind of day?

'If I get the job, I guess I'll find out,' Bella mused.

No one was at the counter, so she rapped her knuckles on the wood.

"Hello? Mrs. Walker?" she called.

Bella heard shuffling behind a door to the left of the counter, and Mrs. Walker popped out. She was wiping her hand clean with a cloth, and extended it for a handshake.

"Isabella! How're you doing?" the elderly woman smiled, exaggerating her smile lines.

"I'm good, Mrs. Walker." Bella shook her hand, and offered a small smile in return. "And, uh, I go by Bella now."

"Bella! What a cute name!" she nodded approvingly. "Mind if we start the interview now?"

Bella shook her head, and leaned slightly against the counter. "No, it's fine. Ask away."

"So, why do ya want the job?" Martha mimicked Bella, elbow on the counter.

Bella pulled her dark jacket tighter around herself, eyes darting around slightly. "Um, didn't my dad tell you-?"

"Oh he did, don't worry." Mrs. Walker waved her off. "But I want to hear what you think about all this."

Bella froze. Why did she want the job? Come on, this was a basic interview question! She could at least answer this.

"I, um," she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm tired of sitting at home. There's nothing for me to do except think, and that's not really fun. And school is _so_ hard, I just." she took another breath. "I just want to do something new. Something that's mine."

"And potting flowers is yours?" she arched a grey eyebrow.

"If, that's okay with you.." Bella stared at her scuffed up Vans, kicking them against the dirty wood floor. She felt ridiculous. She was eighteen and begging for an escape like a child.

Huh. She felt too young, and too old, all at the same time.

Fun.

Mrs. Walker let out a hearty laugh, and Bella felt herself relax.

"Of course it's okay with me! Can't say I'd ever really considered hiring before, but I'm sure I won't mind the company on days like this." Another smile. Bella admired this woman's easy happiness. Maybe, if she was lucky, it would rub off on her.

"So, uhm, when do I start?" she asked shyly, jacket up around her ears, brown eyes peeking out doeishly. 

"Well, I've got some spider plants in the back that need replanting, if you wouldn't mind helping." Martha straightened the bright yellow bandanna in her hair.

Bella smiled again. Wow, two in one day; a new record for her. "Sounds good. How do I do it, exactly?"

 

Bella was immensely thankful for the work. It was tiring on her, sure, but she finally had something to look forward to again. She had an interest! Something that was entirely hers, and no one else's!

She felt so happy, and free, and less like a burden. It was so nice.

Martha, as she'd insisted Bella call her, had her doing lots of small things around the store. She didn't work the register yet, but she kept up the plants; watering them, trimming them, moving them around if necessary. She made bouquets, she swept the floor, she fetched coffee.

And, one Monday, Martha had her drive to the dump to throw out an old shelf that had broken.

She left it with the man that owned the place, and asked if she could look around.

"Sure, go nuts. I ain't doin nothin with all this shit." the man shrugged.

Slightly giddy, Bella gazed down the rows of literal trash. 

Wait. 

Nope, she was going to check it out. She was going to look through the piles of garbage and see if there were any hidden treasures. 

Because why not. 

It was actually hard to tell what was in the piles, since the stuff was so closely packed together, but she still stared intensely at them.

She saw a broken tv that hipsters would probably nut over for their art projects, a bathtub overflowing with tubes of rubber and broken metal- something, and lots and lots of metal sheets.

Honestly, it was kinda dull. It was a dump, after all. What was she expecting? Some magical find that would change her life? 

Trash littered the ground, and Bella took care in avoiding anything particularly sharp looking. Naturally, she stepped over a jagged pole, just to trip on something else.

With a slightly embarrassing shriek Bella crashed to the ground with a thud. 

Her arms ached from where they protected her face from the hard packed dirt, and she groaned in pain. Rolling over onto her pack, she stared up into the annoyingly bright grey sky, and sulked. 

All she wanted was to look around the dump. Why was that so hard?

Grumbling, she peeled herself off the dusty ground, rubbing her sore ass and wiping off her baggy green coat. 

Looking around, she saw something that honest to God made her stop dead in her tracks, eyes blown big, mouth hanging open slightly. 

Before was probably, no,  _definitely_ the ugliest painting of a dog she had ever seen in her life. 

Bella couldn't help but gape at it. It was awful. She couldn't even tell what breed it was supposed to be, but damn, was it an ugly one.

The ugly brown and grey and black dog sat against a royal blue background, and wore what was- probably?- a crown. 

The best thing about it all was the fancy frame it was in. What looked like hand carved wood with intricate swirls secured the monstrosity, and was painted in chipping gold paint. 

Bella wanted it more than fucking anything.

She slipped the painting under her arm, groaning at the weight, and continued on. 

The dump seemed a lot prettier, now.

A fridge lay open, clothing hangers and what looked like a love seat exploding out of it. An old car seemed to wink at her with its broken lights, and she winked back. 

Then, she saw it. 

The thing that lit up her face and almost made her drop her painting. 

A motorcycle. 

She'd never ridden one before; never had the chance, really. But something about it called to her. 

it was atop a rather tall pile of garbage, so she gently (harshly) dropped the painting and tore up it as best she could. She cut her hands and knees and face while she did it, but this wasn't her first rodeo with rusty metal. 

With unsteady footing, she looked it over. 

The handlebars were sticky, and almost looked melted, the seat was ripped and torn to shreds, and she didn't know much about engines but she knew they weren't supposed to look like  _that._

The thing was beaten to shit, and almost for sure not worth the time, effort, or money she would have to put into fixing it. 

She wanted it. 

Sliding dangerously back down (and slicing herself up some more) she made her way out of the maze of lost treasures. 

After going back for her painting, and maybe bleeding on it a little bit. It added character. 

"Hey!" she gasped as she ran back to the old man. "There's a motorcycle back there. Can I have it?"

He gave her a once over. "Listen lady, you can have the painting for free, but I want five hundred for the bike."

"What?" she huffed. "But it's junk!"

"It's junk you'll be paying five hundred dollars for if you want it." the man squinted at her.

She growled. "Fine. I don't have the money now, but I will soon. Hold it for me?"

He jerked his shoulder noncommittally. "If it's here when you have the money, it's yours."

Bella didn't bother hiding her scowl. "Fine. I'll be back soon for it."

"Be my guest."

Bella pulled out of the scrapyard with a mission in mind.

Giddily, she realized she now had two things to look forward to. Her job, and buying the bike. Then fixing up the bike. Then riding it!

She grinned to herself. She was pulling herself together quite nicely, if she did say so herself.


	3. Oh Hi Jacob How Are You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the boy

When she showed Charlie the newly bought artwork, he'd made a pitiful whining noise and said "Please, anywhere but the living room."

With an ugly snort, Bella agreed, and hauled the monstrosity upstairs, along with a hammer and some nails. 

She wanted it to hang in her room, where she could see it everyday. She wanted to see it when she woke up from her nightmares, or was laying in bed, regretting living, to keep her humble.

It was such a ridiculous looking thing, she couldn't be emo around it. And having something like that around was very important to her recovery. 

She threw the thing onto her bed, put her hands on her hips.

Now, where to put if specifically?

It had to be near her bed, as that was where her brooding took place. Not behind it, that was pointless, and directly across from it was a window, also pointless. To the right of it was her door, so not there.

This left the wall to the left of her bed. 

Satisfied with her choice, Bella moved towards it to clear it up, and had to swallow a scream when Edward's piercing yellow gaze pinned her where she was standing. 

Taking a shaky breath and pressing her hand over her sporadic heart, Bella tried to calm herself. 

She'd forgotten, in her excitement, what was already on that wall. 

A trembling hand reached out, and lightly brushed pictures of her and Edward. 

She'd taken those with the camera her mother had given her for her birthday.

She didn't even know where that camera was. 

It hurt, seeing her past. Wishing it was the future. 

It made her gut clench and her eyes water. 

Taking a few unsteady steps back, and dropped onto her bed. 

She bit her lip ferociously, and it  _stung,_ and she was grasping her blankets in her right hand. 

Her purple blankets.

Charlie had been devastated when he'd learned she hated purple. He'd stressed so much over them, and then to hear she didn't even like the colour-

Bella chuckled wetly at the memory. She had to fight to keep them in her room after that. She didn't know why she did it- it didn't really matter. 

But Charlie had chosen them, because he cared.

Charlie cared about her.

She exhaled.

Charlie cared, and the ugly painting cared, even if Edward didn't. 

And- and she was going to try to not care about that.

She didn't want to.

She wanted to focus on her fucking motorcycle.

 

Charlie had offered to pay for it when he found out.

"I really don't mind, Bell." he'd insisted. "I know you want it, and that you'll use it."

But she had declined. "Thanks, Dad, but I want to do this. It's, it's important to me."

He'd relented, and she spent the next few weeks saving up. She did notice the occasional extra twenty dollars added to her bank account, but let it slide. Charlie was just trying to help, and she couldn't really say no to the cash. She spent it on food, not the bike, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

Finally, finally, she could get the bike. She not so discreetly flipped the grumpy old dump man off after it was loaded into her car, and sped off.

Now, how to fix it?

Her hands slipped, and she almost swerved into the opposite lane. 

Shit. Fuck. Shitting fuck.

That was something she should have thought of before. Dammit.

Come on, she had to have a plan! Some kind of idea!

With a frustrated groan, she realized she did not.

She didn't feel like dwelling on this while wasting gas, so she pulled into a diners parking lot.

After finding a seat and ordering a croissant (her appetite hadn't returned in full, but she didn't mind eating a few times a day now) she let herself focus on her situation.

She couldn't take it to a mechanic. Besides the obvious fact that she would become _very_ poor, very quickly, the idea rubbed her the wrong way. _She_ wanted to fix up the bike. Not alone, duh, but she did want to help in more ways than emptying her bank account.

So, what to do then?

With a prolonged groan, she shoved a strand of her (properly washed) hair into her mouth, and chewed on it angrily as she tapped bitten to hell nails against her slightly sticky table top, and glared angrily at the green sedan she could see through the window.

Really? Was she really about to be thwarted before she could even start?

This was  _fucking_ bullshit-

"Hey, Sandy. Could I get a blueberry muffin for the road?"

"Sure thing, sugar."

That voice. Bella knew that voice!

She whipped her head around, and there he was. Jacob Black, in all his long haired glory. 

His hands were buried in a big, navy blue jacket, and a beanie rested on his messily braided hair. 

Of course. She was an idiot. She had a mechanic friend!

Well, hopefully she had a mechanic friend. She'd been avoiding him just as much as everyone else. But, maybe he would forgive her? Especially if she proposed a project that had them spending a lot of time together?

The idea warmed her. Jacob had always been a good friend, one she never really got as close to as she should have. Maybe, maybe this was her chance to fix that.

Fuck, she hoped so. Of all the people she wanted to befriend again, he was at the top of the list.

Muffin in hand, Jacob turned towards her to leave.

With a squeak, she hid behind her booth. Okay, clearly she still had to work up her courage. Maybe after a pep talk from Martha, she'd be ready?

 

Well, it took three pep talks, and two of what Martha referred to as """anxiety attacks""", but she finally brought herself to drive to Jacobs house with the bike.

She sat in her truck for a few minutes, taking deep breaths and telling herself everything would be fine, before she opened the door and stepped onto his uneven driveway.

Bella scowled at it, knowing it was waiting for just the right moment to trip her clumsy ass and ruin everything.

She, carefully, walked up it, and towards the open garage.

"Jacob? You here?"

"Bella?" his muffled voice called out and, to her surprise, he came out the front door of the house.

Bella spun on her heel to try and see him and, naturally, last her footing. Her unstable stance set her careening towards the rocky ground, until two strong arms caught her and pressed her against a broad chest.

Bella gasped quietly, letting her heart beat stutter back to something more manageable.

"Bella, are you okay?"

Bella straightened up, and blushed in embarrassment.

"Hi, Jacob."

Jacob grinned so brightly the gloomy sky seemed to lighten for a second, and wrapped her up in a hug.

Damn, Jacob gave good hugs. He just pulled her in and squished her, and she greatly appreciated the weighted feeling it gave her.

Also he smelled like pine trees and the forest but that was whatever haha.

He pulled back. "Dude! It's been like, forever! How are you?"

"I'm alright," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just, needed some time to think, I guess. But! I'm back, and I have a project for us."

"Oh?" he arched a thick brow, eyes brimming with excited energy. "And what is this project?"

"Come here, I'll show you." Bella pulled on his hoodies sleeve and led him to the back of her truck.

"Ready?"

"Ready Freddy." he rocked on his tip toes, smiling down at her.

Bella rolled her eyes and pulled the tarp off the bike.

Jacob whistled. "Damn, where'd you get that?"

"Scrap yard." Bella beamed. "It's trashed to shit, but I don't mind a challenge if you don't."

"You wanna fix her up?" Jacob looked skeptical.

"Do you not want to?" she faltered. Shit. He didn't want to do this. Her hand tightened around her own overlarge hoodie.

She was so stupid, she should have known-

"Of course I want to," Jacob scoffed, dispelling her anxieties like it was nothing. "I've been looking for a big project like this to work on. I'm just surprised _you_ want to, I guess. Never thought you were the mechanic type."

"I'm not," she admitted with a shrug, "but for my baby, I want to be."

Jacob gave her a cheeky smirk. "Aw, Bella, congrats. Who's the father?"

She groaned and threw her head back while he laughed.

"That was lame."

"Maybe so," he quirked his mouth up at her. "Here, I'll bring it into the garage."

"Okay, but be careful, it's-" Jacob picked it up with one hand and dropped it to the ground gently, "-heavy."

Jacob froze for a second, than gave her another smile. "I've been working out."

"I can see that," she stared at the bike. "Uh, lets get it into the garage, then."

Jacob walked ahead of her, guiding it via the steering wheels. She hung back.

That kind of strength was... weird. Eerily similar weird. It almost reminded her of a certain family...

But that was impossible. Jacob wasn't a- a vampire. He was normal. Her normal, human, good friend.

Nothing else.


	4. My Babies Get Babies

Despite her brilliant plan of having her friend help her instead of going to a mechanic, Bella still ended up spending most of her money. Jacob paid for some of it, which she allowed because it had become a partner type thing, and both of their baby.

Her name was Samantha. Samantha Anita Black-Swan. And they loved her with their whole hearts.

She stayed at Jacobs (Samantha) and when Bella wasn't working, desperately trying to catch up on school, or having only sort of awkward movie nights with her dad, she was working on her with him.

There was a lot of parts they had to buy, and they had to travel all over to get them. Sometimes they were delivered, sometimes they had to visit to nearby cities and scavenge for them.

This was one of those times.

They'd already picked up the part they needed, and were spending some time bumming around the mall.

"It's been awhile since I've been here, come on!" Jacob had encouraged, and Bella didn't mind the idea of poking into a few stores.

"Fine, fine, but only for an hour."

They both she only said that to try and annoy him, and they also knew it didn't work. Jacob was like a damn golden retriever, all sunshine all the time.

Which made it weird and unpleasant when he got mad.

"Bella, look." they had been browsing a pet store, and at the very back Jacob pointed out a very depressed looking parrot.

It had plucked out most of its beautiful blue feathers, revealing a pink underbelly, and was pressed tight up against a corner.

Jacob was seething. "What the fuck are these morons doing with a parrot. That's not the right cage, it's too fucking small. Poor bastard." He continued to rant and pace, leaving Bella to actually consider their options.

Jacob looked more than ready to hunt down the stores employees and give them a piece of his mind, but Bella wasn't in the mood for a fight.

"So let's buy him then."

"What?" he stopped mid step.

"You're right, the bird clearly isn't happy here. So, let's take it home with us."

He stared at her, flabbergasted, and then his face broke into the widest smile yet. "Really Bella?"

"Yeah, of course." she shrugged. "I can't just leave him here, I'd feel bad."

He pulled her into a tight hug, thanking her repeatedly.

"Oh, but, where will he stay?" Jacob asked as he pulled back.

"Well, don't they need a lot of attention or something? So, whoever has people at home the most should keep him in their place."

Well, obviously that wasn't Bella. Neither she or her father could regularly be found at home, while Jacob's father rarely left the house.

"Looks like he's coming with me! Ugh, I'm so excited." he beamed at the bird. "We're taking you home, little buddy!"

They walked to the front of the store.

"Uh, hey," Bella waved to the cashier. "We were looking to buy the parrot back there?"

The woman looked at them with wide eyes. "R-really? Are you sure?"

Jacob nodded fiercely. His fists were curled tight, and Bella could almost hear him grinding his teeth.

"Yes, ma'am." Bella assured her. "We would very much like to purchase him."

"Well, alright then. Uh, I'll get his stuff setup." the worker led them back to where the parrot was still sitting sadly.

She maneuvered him, with great difficulty, into a smaller cage. Jacob stood in a different corner of the store, furiously looking up how to properly care for the bird, while Bella scanned the bird aisle. The bird was placed on the counter for when they were ready to buy, so Bella made sure to check on him every now and then.

She grabbed a few wooden toys, and food and water dishes, then went to stand by Jacob.

"So? What do we need to do to make him happy?"

Jacob didn't look up from his phone.

"Hello? Earth to Jake?" she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Huh? Oh, hey." he put his phone into his pocket. "Whatcha say?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "What do we need to make the bird happy?"

"Oh, yeah." he examined the items she had in her hands. "Those should be good. Uh, we need perches. We can probably buy some here, and then make some really cool ones back at the house. We also need, like, a shit ton of fruits and vegetables. No seeds, apparently. Um, we should probably get him a cage, but they're too small, so maybe we could just always leave the door open? Like it's a place for him to chill, but he's not stuck there."

Bella tried to crunch the numbers. "This sounds kinda expensive."

Jacob winced. "Uh, yes? Yeah, it's gonna be. They're expensive animals."

Bella rubbed her temple. "I'll call Charlie, see if he can transfer me some money."

"I thought you hated taking money from your dad?" Jacob tilted his head.

"I do, but that's a pride thing. This is a different matter." she pulled out her phone. "This is about saving a bird."

He grinned. "You're the best, Bell."

She shrugged.

When Charlie agreed to it, Jacob did a giddy little dance that warmed Bella down to her core, and they went to buy the bird.

The car ride back was long; filled with Jacob looking up cute bird videos, and Bella trying very hard not to crash while cooing at baby parrots eating blueberries.

Jacobs dad was, uh, not too pleasantly surprised to see what the two teens had brought home, but after a bit of sweet talking from both of them, he agreed it could stay.

"Now all we have to do is name him." Jacob said as he arranged pieces of the cage for their new friend.

Bella hummed as she gave the instructions a once over. "It's gotta be something good."

"Obviously," he scoffed. "I'm not naming him something dumb, like Edward."

Bella winced. "Too soon."

"Sorry. Okay, how about, uhm. Shit, why is this so hard?" he smushed his cheek into his hand.

"How about Goober?" Bella mused.

Jacob snorted. "Where'd you come up with that?"

"It's what my stepdad calls me when I'm especially clumsy." she admitted.

"Bet he's never called you Bella, then."

Bella threw the instruction manual at him. He cackled and blocked it.

"Does the truth hurt, Isabella?" he mocked sweetly.

"Not as much as this wrench will." 

 

In the end, Jacobs sister named the bird after she saw it in a facetime.

"Aw, look at Willis! He's so cute!" she had cooed, and that was that.

Willis Evan Black-Swan, and Samantha Anita Black-Swan. They had a nice lil family going, huh?


	5. Guys Being Dudes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Quill and Embry are related and I just don't know it I'm killing myself

Bella was working on Samantha with Jacob when his friends came in. She'd seen them a few times, talked to them a little bit, but had never really hung out with them.

They popped in every now and then, mostly to steal pizza, or to feed Willis. They also always tried their damnedest to get Jacob to hang out with them, and despite Bella's insistence that it was okay, he'd always refused.

This time, they weren't taking no for an answer.

"I will not be ignored, Jacob Black." Embry, a tall, shaggy haired boy, announced. Quill, a teen with short curly hair, nodded stoically.

"You will leave this bike, you will have a bonfire with us, and you will not complain about it."

"You shall do none of that." Quill switched to shaking his head.

Jacob groaned from where he was sprawled on the floor. "Guys, come on, don't do this-"

"Jacob, go with them." Bella commanded.

He pouted up at her. "Why you? I'm doing this for you!"

"Are you now?" she quirked her head. "Then you can do this for me too. Go have fun with your friends."

He moaned and rolled onto his stomach.

"Jacob, stop it. You're getting your face dirty."

"Shut up, Bella."

"Come on, Jake," Embry dropped his stern demeanor and begged. "We miss you."

Jacob peeked at him. "Can Bella come?"

"If she wants."

"Does she want?" Jacob turned to her.

She froze. She hadn't hung out with anyone but Jacob for awhile now, and she'd never been very social.

But, if it was the only way to get Jacob to go...

"Yeah, of course." she assured him. "Come on, it'll be fun."

He huffed into the cement. "Fine. whatever. Guess I'll go have fun with my friends and eat snacks. Ugh, this is bullshit."

"Rude," Embry kicked Jacobs leg.

He batted the leg away, which earned him another kick, and the two began to tussle.

Quill hung back, comfortable with just watching.

"So, where's this bonfire going to be?" Bella awkwardly shuffled over to where he was standing.

"Oh, at my place. We just cleared out some dead trees on the property, so we've got a shit ton of kindling."

"Sounds like fun," Bella offered.

He nodded, and they both returned to watching the fight. Jacob had got Embry on the ground, and they were trying to pin each other.

"Come on, Jacob. You can't let this scrawny kid win." Bella encouraged.

"Don't listen to her, Embry, you're tough as shit!"

Embry grinned at Quill, and Jacob used that moment to flip his friend over and crush him.

"Aw, man." Quill sighed, while Bella cheered.

Jacob helped Embry up.

"With all that time you spend with Sam, I would've thought you would be stronger." Jacob challenged with a smirk.

Things changed from lighthearted to tense in an instant. Quill eyed them uneasily, while Jacob and Embry entered a weird staring contest.

"Uh, who's Sam?"

Jacob stared for a bit longer, then looked at her. "Some guy from the reservation."

"Oh." there was obviously more to it, but the topic was clearly a source of conflict, so Bella opted to leave it at that. 

"Can we go? Now?" Quill shifted back and forth on his feet, and gestured towards his car.

Embry took a breath. "Yeah, let's go. You guys coming in our car or Bella's truck?"

"I can drive, you just gotta show me the way."

"Fine with me." Quill led the way outside.

The ride, thankfully, was filled with light chatter. Jacob seemed just as eager to forget about the odd patch of weird, and Bella resolved to bring it up another time.

Soon enough, they pulled into Quill's driveway.

"Come on, my dad should have the fire going already."

They traipsed into the backyard, where a fire was indeed burning away.

Quill darted to the backdoor of the house and shouted, "Thanks dad!" inside.

When he came back, the others were settled around the fire, on wooden logs.

"Took all the good spots, I bet," he grumbled.

Embry scooted over on his, and Quill didn't hesitate to sit next to him.

Bella raised a brow at that, and Jacob nodded knowingly.

Huh.

"So, y'all got anything to roast?" Bella asked.

"Jacob's hair. It's pretty shit."

"Oh you little shit-"

Bella leaned into Jacob's chest. "You can fight after I've had at least two smores."

It was hard to tell in the firelight, but it almost looked like Jacob was blushing.

"Uh, sure. I guess I can agree to that."

"Come on, Jake, let's go get the supplies."

Almost reluctantly, he pushed Bella off, and went with Embry to get food.

"Alone again, eh?" Bella laughed awkwardly.

"Yup," Quill nodded.

Bella hummed and tapped her legs.

"So, uh, how'd you and Jacob meet?"

"At school," Quill shrugged. "We've been in the same classes since, like, forever."

"Comes with a small town, I guess."

He nodded. "What about you? How'd you two meet?"

Bella tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Uh, I used to come here during summers to visit my dad. I'd hang out with his sisters, and sometimes him. I didn't really get to know him until, like, last year. And we only got close a month or two ago."

He tilted his head. "Really? You guys seem so... I dunno. Used to each other. Like you've been friends, good friends, for awhile."

She smiled. "Really?"

"Mhm. He's not the most selective with his friends, but you gotta be special for him to spend that much time with you."

Now it was Bella's turn to blush. "Really? That's sweet of you to say."

Quill leaned back on his arms, feet stretching towards the flames. "Can't say I didn't miss him, but having alone time with Embry was nice, when he wasn't hangin out with Sam, that is. Besides, Jacob seems real taken with Willis and Samantha."

Bella thought he was going to say, 'taken with you', and blushed even darker.

Fuck, what was going on? She was probably just tired. And delusional. Maybe she accidentally smoked weed, forgot about it, and was thinking crazy.

Yeah, that was probably it.

"We got food!" Embry burst out of the house.

"What took ya?" Quill called back.

"Your mom rearranged the kitchen! It was like going to a new Walmart, couldn't find a damn thing!"

"The hell kind of comparison is that?" Quill made a face at the teen as he sat down, marshmallows and crackers in hand.

"You never been betrayed by the layout of an unfamiliar Walmart? Lucky bastard."

Quill shoved Embry's face, earning a bellowing laugh from him.

"Chocolate?" Jacob offered.

"Why not," Bella snapped a piece of the bar off.

"Think we'll ever get the rest of the smore stuff?" he looked at the other ingredients, lying a little ways away, wistfully.

"Probably not." Bella sighed. "Unless you want to get up and get them?"

Jacob shoved a large chunk into his mouth. "Never."

"Guess we'll just get fat off chocolate then." Bella snatched the rest of the bar.

"Rude."

"Bella! Back me up here!" Embry called out.

She turned to him. "What?"

"The saying you can never be betrayed by a friend, only an enemy, is bullshit!"

"No, it's not, because if they do something to betray you, they weren't really your friend, but your enemy."

Bella frowned. Well, if that didn't hit a little too close to home. Edward had certainly left her with feelings of betrayal. But did that make him an enemy? No, but she didn't really consider him a friend either.

"I dunno, sounds a bit too simple to me. Things are complicated."

Jacob snorted. "You're all idiots; the saying is betrayal never comes from enemies. It's about how the people you trust the most can also hurt you the most."

"So, what I'm hearing is, Embry's argument is invalid by default?" Quill smirked.

"Shut the fuck up," Embry shoved a marshmallow into his nose.

"Ew," Bella winced.

"Yeah, come on, man, I wanna eat one of those," Jacob whined.

Embry responded by coldly dumping the bag onto the grass.

"Oh, you whore-" Jacob leaped off his log and once again threw fists with his friend.

Bella laughed, until she was hit in the face by something soft. She looked around, and saw Quill already preparing to throw another.

"Aw, hell no!" she grinned and scooped the spoiled treats off the ground for her own ammunition. Jacob and Embry saw what they were doing, and joined in.

Soon Team Jacob was fighting Team Embry in a death match around the fire.

Bella found herself screaming with laughter as the sticky snacks stuck to her, very tasteful, onion t-shirt. Jacob was wild in his offence, and absolute shit at his defense. Unfortunately for them, the other two were an unstoppable team, and they were all too soon defeated.

"Alright, alright, I give!" Jacob admitted. Embry was sitting on top of his torso, and Quill was crushing his legs.

Bella got the worst of it, and was underneath all of them.

"Me too, I surrender," she coughed out.

"Oh, dear Jacob, dear Bella, thou hast no skill."

"Just shut up and get off us you fat bastard."

Offended, Embry merely began to bounce.

Jacob cursed at him, while Bella croaked.

Finally, they cleaned up, and Bella declared she had to go home.

"I might have forgotten to tell Charlie, and he's about to either have a heart attack, or kill me."

"Probably both."

Bella elbowed Jacob.

"Yeah, I get it. Well, it was nice hanging out with you, Bella. We'll have to do it again sometime." Embry said, his arm resting on Quills shoulder.

"Definitely." Bella nodded. "I had a lot of fun."

"Bye, Bella." Quill waved.

"See you later." she waved back.

She and Jacob loaded into her truck and pulled out.

Jacobs leg was bouncing erratically, and it was obvious he wanted to say something.

"Spit it out."

"Did you like them?" he blurted.

Bella smiled at him from the corner of her eye. "Of course I did. I'm, sort of awkward, like, always, but I think Quill didn't find me totally boring, and I liked him, so. Yeah."

"Good! That's good." he smiled softly at the dashboard. "I'm glad, Bell. They're really cool guys, it's nice that you get along."

"Yeah. It was nice, hanging out with a group of people. I should do it more."

That got Jacob really excited, and he started spewing ideas for what the four of them could do together, but Bella's mind had drifted elsewhere.

She liked the boys, don't get her wrong, but they went to different schools.

She was thinking of another group of friends, ones she'd been avoiding, and how, maybe, she should change that.


	6. Look I KNow She Sees Sam and Them Before They Ride The Bike I'm Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeah my memories shit, I switched up when things happen, now she's driving with a potential concussion leave me alone

Usually when Bella woke up before seven, it was because a night terror had left her screaming and shaking in her bed, and Charlie had to come wake her up.

This time, it was because she had received a phone call.

"Hello?" she hoped she said that out loud, and coherently.

"Bella! She's done!"

"Wha?" Bella wiped drool from her mouth.

"I finished Samantha!" Jacob yelled excitedly.

That woke her up. "Without me?"

"Sorry, sorry, I know! I just, I woke up this morning, and couldn't sleep, so I decided to do some quick work on Samantha, and she started! She's good to go!"

"Really?" Bella couldn't stifle her embarrassing squeal.

"Really! Bella, we've got to take her out today!"

"Okay, okay. Well, first of all, don't think you're forgiven, because I'm still pissed you did it without me, and secondly, we have school."

"Ditch! Please?" he begged. "Your dad will understand, come on!"

Bella sighed into her hand, but smiled. "Yeah, fine. But I've got a test first period, so I'll pick you up during lunch."

"Okay, see you then!" Jacob hung up.

Damn that boy, trying to take all the glory.

Bella's smile turned into a huge grin. Damn, it felt good to accomplish something.

She couldn't wait to take her for a spin.

Her first two periods passed at a snail's pace, but soon enough she was zooming over to the school on the reserve.

Jacob was waiting for her by the school's sign, so she didn't even have to pull into the parking lot.

"Come on, let's motor to my house. My dad's there, but if we're quick he won't be able to stop us."

"Rebel, rebel."

"Yeah yeah, just go."

Samantha was set up in Jacob's driveway, and they managed to load her on seconds before Jacob's dad opened the door.

"What are you two doing? Why aren't you at school?"

Bella froze.

"RUN!" Jacob threw himself into the passenger seat.

"Sorry Mr. Black!" Bella hopped behind the wheel and pulled out. "He's going to kill you."

"Keep driving, consequences are for the weak."

"What does that mean?" Bella squawked.

"It means I have twenty excuses, fifteen apologies, and three I'm Sorry gifts lined up."

Bella nodded. "Impressive."

"Why, thank you." he bowed. "Now, let me set up the GPS. I know a good place to try the bike out."

After driving for around twenty minutes, they pulled up beside a lake.

"There's some trails here that lead into the woods, and they're wide enough for Samantha."

"Nice," Bella exited the car and moved to get the bike down.

"Ah, it's okay." Jacob picked it up, using two hands this time. "So, you ready to go?"

"I'm going first?" she raised a brow.

"Only fair, since I finished it." he shrugged.

"Aw, thanks Jacob." she swung her leg over the seat. "You're still not forgiven."

"I will earn your forgiveness, no matter how long it takes." he declared with a fist on his heart.

Bella rolled her eyes. "So, run over the how to one more time."

"Alright, so," he placed his hands on hers. "This is the brake. This is the clutch, and this," he flicked an orange switch, "is the engine."

Samantha roared to life, and Bella almost whooped in excitement.

"She works!"

"Course she does. I'm no liar, Bella Bella." Jacob took a step back. "Alright, so, slowly release the clutch, and you'll be off."

"Alright, move, don't want to ruin your hair." Bella jerked her head.

"So considerate!" Jacob stood off in the grass. "Whenever you're ready."

Bella released the clutch, but not slow enough, as she shot forward.

"Shit!"

"You okay?"

She took a second to catch her breath. "Yeah, just getting a feel for it. Alright, I'm going for real now."

She slowly, very slowly, released the clutch again, and actually took off at a respectable rate. She increased the speed, until she was soaring down the dirt road.

It was... amazing. Sure, she'd gone on runs with Edward before, but this was her going this fast, not someone else. She was in control, even if she had to use a bike.

"Jacob!" she looked back, delight shining in her eyes. "I'm so fucking fast!"

"Bella, look-"

Too late. The bike slammed into the rock, and she went flying.

"Bella!" Jacob charged across the path to get to her.

Bella was in a daze. Her head hurt, and so did her arms, and legs. And her everything. 

Shit. fuck. Ow. That was a mistake.

He skidded over to her. "Bella! Are you okay?"

She looked up at him. "Uh?"

"Fuck, you're bleeding." his voice cracked with panic. "I, shit, uh, do you have bandages in the truck?"

Bella shook her head. "Yup, in the glove compartment. I'm clumsy."

"What- never mind. Oh, Fuck." he touched the wound on her forehead impulsively.

"Oh! No thanks! That hurts." Bella grabbed his hand.

He ripped a strip of cloth from his shirt. "It's dirty, I'm sorry, but I gotta try and stop it."

Bella hummed, staring into his eyes as he dabbed at her cut.

"You're beautiful," she murmured.

"Wha-what?" Jacob stopped his movements.

"Mhm." She gave his face a pat. "Good on you."

"You hit your head hard, Bella."

"Nah, I'm fine." she ran her hand through his hair. "You should let me braid your hair. You'd look even prettier."

"And that's hospital talk, let's go," in one swift movement, she was picked up bridal style.

"Whee," she giggled.

He carried her to the car, then used an old blanket and a water bottle to clean up her cut. It was small, thankfully, and after sitting and having a sip of water, Bella's mind came back into focus.

"Fuck, that hurt." she winced and pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Yeah, it looked like it," Jacob leaned in, brows etched with concern. "Are you okay? I still kinda want to take you to the hospital."

She shook her head. "No, I hate that place. I'll go if I still feel off tomorrow though, promise."

Jacob didn't look convinced.

"Now come on, let's go home."

"Oh hell no, you are not driving."

"You don't have your license yet."

"But I know how to drive, and don't have a concussion."

"Great! That makes two of us."

"Bella, please-"

"You can take over if I feel like throwing up." Bella declared, and jumped into the driver's seat.

Grumbling his disapproval, Jacob got into the truck.

Putting in her home address, Bella pulled onto the road.

Jacob turned on the radio, and they drove in silence.

After a few minutes of stiff awkwardness, Bella felt herself cracking.

"Jacob-"

"I'm sorry."

The car swerved slightly.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I'm just worried. And I should have brought a helmet. That was on me. It's my fault."

She sighed. "I should have watched where I was going. It was my fault."

"Yeah, you're a terrible driver."

Bella gasped, and the boy chuckled. She whacked him on the arm.

"Don't be mean to me, I'm dying."

"I'm helping you! Things will be so much worse in hell, you've gotta get used to it."

Bella rounded a corner. "You suck."

"I'm just being supportive," he grinned sweetly.

"Sure you are- what the hell?" Bella pulled the car off the road and parked it.

"What, what's wrong?" Jacob watched as she marched out of the car.

"Those assholes just threw that kid over the cliff!" she ran to a fence that overlooked the water. On the other side, five men were standing shirtless, laughing.

Jacob jogged up to her and, surprisingly, relaxed a mite when he saw what she was upset over.

"Relax, Bella. They're just cliff diving. It's part of Sam's initiation process." he sneered at his own words.

"What? Sam? You guys mentioned him the other night, who is he?" Bella still couldn't quite quell her panic.

"Some guy from the reserve, like I said." Jacobs eyes narrowed. "He's got some weird fucking gang going on, recruiting other boys for who knows what. They think they run the place, act like it too. Emery used to call them hallmoniters hopped up on steroids, but now look at him."

One of the kids, who Bella realized was the boy she'd thrown marshmallows at not two days ago, took a running jump off the cliff.

"Is that why things got tense between you two?"

He nodded, eyes still fixed on the cliff. "It was so weird. Emery missed a lot of school, like in a row, which isn't like him. Then he started following Sam around like some kinda puppy or some shit. Same thing happened with Paul and Jared." he turned to look at her, an unfamiliar coldness in his eyes. "Same keeps looking at me, like he's waiting for me or something. I hate it."

Belle scrunched up her face. "That sucks."

He sighed. "Yeah, it does."

They watched the other boys jump off the cliff.

"Alright, miss concussion, let's get back on the road." he made towards the truck. "Oh, and I'm driving the rest of the way."

"Asshole," Bella grumbled. She would have made a run for the front seat, but her head was throbbing from her little sprint. "Don't get used to it."

Seeing Jacob's friend served to not only make her worry about her friends safety, but reminded her of the people she'd still been neglecting.

Probably because she was scared of going with people she hadn't actually spoken to in months.

"Hey, I'm inviting some of my school friends to the movies sometime this week. Wanna come?"

"Sure," Jacob smiled, tension already melting off his body. "Just don't pick anything lame."

"No problem."


	7. Hello Werewolf Angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the angst is coming boys

She had to go to work after she dropped off the bike and Jacob, which she honestly wasn’t mad about.  
She need some good Martha advice.  
“I say just go for it, girly.” Martha looked up from the counter she was scrubbing. “They know you were going through a lot, and needed some time. With how eager you said they were at first, I’m sure they’ll be all over you again.”  
Bella wrinkled her nose. “I hope not. I just, want to do something normal.”  
“Movies are a good place to start.” she nodded her approval. “You missed a pot, dear.”  
“Oh, oops.” Bella maneuvered the watering can she was holding to the neglected flower. “You really think it’ll go okay?”  
Martha planted a hand on her hip. “Are you calling me a liar, Miss Swan?”  
Bella smiled and ducked behind her hair. “Course not.”  
“Good.” she softened. “Have faith, Bella. Everything will go fine.”  
“Thanks, Martha,” Bella said earnestly. “Alright, I just gotta water the pots over there-” as she took a step, she slipped on a teeny tiny bit of water she’d spilt, and fell flat on her ass.  
“Mercy, Bella!” Martha darted over to her. “First the concussion, now a broken tailbone!”  
“Ouch,” she rubbed her behind. “I’m fine Martha, really. Also, I don’t have a concussion. Haven’t felt dizzy once.”  
Martha tutted. “That’s not true, Missy. You could very well be dying of internal bleeding in your brain.”  
Bela winced. “Uh, okay, enough of the graphic details. I’m fine, promise.”  
“Hmph,” Martha scowled at her. “If you’re so fine, then you can carry in the twenty bags of fertilizer we just got.”  
“Sure, I’ll do that after I water the plants.” 

Alright, it was time to set her plan in motion. There was an action movie playing at eight that night. All she had to do was casually sit at their table, for the first time in months, and ask if anyone wanted to see it with her. Easy peasy.  
Taking a deep breath, Bella approached her old table.  
“I’m not lying, I saw something in those woods.” she overheard Angela say.  
“No no, I believe you, baby.” Eric said as he rolled his eyes.  
“I’m serious! I saw something in those woods. It was big, black, and hairy. Maybe it was a bear, or something.”  
“Yah huh, sure.” Mike scoffed. “Or maybe it was an alien.”  
“Guys, knock it off. You know the woods can play tricks on your eyes, don’t make fun of her.” Jessica made a weak attempt to stand up for her friend.  
Bella didn’t see why they weren’t taking her seriously. First of all, bears in the woods? Not that uncommon. Second of all,  
“You’re not the only one,” Bella defended Angela as she took a seat. “My dad, down at the station, has been getting similar reports. Whatever it is, it’s killed five hikers.”  
“Oh, interesting.” Angela glared at Eric.  
Realizing the trouble he was in, he began to laugh. “Next time, y’all better take my girlfriend seriously.”  
Bella shook her head. Eric was certainly a character. A boring, annoying character, but hey, so was she.  
“So, uh,” Mike cleared his throat, and Bella turned to face him. “You’re, um, back?”  
“I guess I am.” she forced a smile.  
“Cool, cool,” he tapped a beat into the table. “So, I was wondering, would you want to maybe, um see a movie with me?”  
Bella blinked. Well, this was working out for her nicely.  
“I, actually, was going to ask you the same thing.” Bella’s smile turned genuine. “There’s this movie on tonight, it’s called Face Punch. I was wondering if you wanted to see it?”  
Mike brightened. “Yeah! Of course! But, wait, isn’t that an action movie.”  
“Yeah, more interesting than some romcom, right?” she turned to the others at the table. “What about you guys? Do any of you want to see Face Punch?”  
“Oh, it’s a group thing-”  
“Sure!” Eric grinned at her. “Sounds like fun. The trailer looked so cool, remember Mike?” he proceeded to do a cringey reenactment of the fight scenes, and Bella found herself questioning herself.  
But, she had set her mind on this, so she was going to do it. Besides, she’d have Jacob for support, and that thought alone gave her the confidence to go through with the plan.  
Everything was going to be fine. 

Everything was falling apart. Rapidly.  
Despite everyone agreeing to come, only Mike had showed up. Well, Mike and Jacob, but that wasn’t a surprise. She had never doubted him.  
Sighing, she bought the tickets. As she walked towards the boys, she heard a snippet of their conversation.  
“Aren’t you a little young to be watching this movie?”  
“Well, Bella’s buying my ticket, and, you know, I’m not a child.”  
“Oh, yeah.”  
Bella smirked. Jacob was two years younger, not ten. He acted mature enough, anyways.  
“Alright guys, let’s head in.” Bella held out the tickets.  
“Off to see guys heads getting blown up. Yay.”  
Bella got the feeling Mike wasn’t too excited about this movie.  
They entered the theatre, and Bella noticed Jacob hovering closer than normal. It wasn’t unwelcome, just unusual.  
“Scared you’ll get lost in this big crowd?” she joked.  
“Huh?” he tilted his head, then pulled away. “Oh, sorry.”  
“It’s fine.” she assured him.  
They took their seats, finding a good spot up front and in the middle, and settled in for the movie to start.  
About halfway in, Bella found herself tiring of the constant gore and explosions, so she gave her eyes a break from staring at the screen.  
Jacob’s hand lay casually on the armrest, an invitation, but one subtle enough she didn’t feel forced to take it.  
She wished she could say the same about Mike’s open claw hand.  
Yeesh.  
She tried to focus back on the movie, but Mike decided he’d had enough.  
“I’m gonna hurl,” he covered his mouth and leaped from his seat.  
“Mike!” Bella hissed at him, but he was gone.  
Jacob groaned behind her.  
“Come on, we can’t leave him alone.”  
They caught sight of him just as he disappeared into the bathroom.  
“You’ll be okay Mike! Just breathe!” Bella encouraged through the door.  
“Your friend is kinda squeamish.”  
“Very observant, Jake.” she gave the door a light kick. “Come on, we’ll wait over there.”  
They walked over to a set of stairs, Jacob once again pressing close against Bella. His hand brushed hers, and she couldn’t help but jerk away.  
“Oh, sorry,” he took a step back.  
“No, it’s okay I just. Think it might mean something… else to you.”  
“Oh,” he looked at the ground. “Uh, sorry. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”  
“No, it’s fine, it’s just-” she groaned. “Look, I like you, okay? But. it’s just. Not a good idea.”  
Jacob began to say something, but cut himself off. He rubbed his temple. “Okay, so, let me get this straight. You like me, and you think I’m beautiful, but we can’t date?”  
“Mhm,” Bella sat on one of the steps.  
“Why?”  
“Because- because it would ruin everything.” she buried her head between her legs. “I can’t, I just- need. You.”  
“I’m not going anywhere, Bella.”  
“I know you say, that and you mean it, but. Sometimes people leave. Or they don’t want to be with you anymore. And I don’t want to drag you down with my fears. I don’t want to push you away.”  
Jacob moved to sit beside her. “Is this- because of him?”  
She nodded.  
“Ah.” he took a deep breath. “Look, Bell. I know what he did to you. But, I promise, I would never do that to you. I will never hurt you. Ever. I swear. I won’t let you down. You can count on me.”  
She looked into his eyes.  
“Promise?”  
“Promise.”  
She felt like a child, but the reassurance still brought her comfort. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he moved into the touch.  
“I need to go home.”  
Bella looked up to see Mike.  
“Huh?”  
“Yeah, I uh, was feeling sick before the movie, so. Yeah.”  
Jacob glared daggers at him.  
Bella nudged him. “Dude, chill.”  
Jacob didn’t budge, he just kept staring the blond boy down.  
“You got a problem?” Mike challenged with a voice crack.  
“Yeah, you.” he shot up, and forced himself into Mike’s space.  
“Jacob!” Bella launched after him.  
“Feeling sick? Wanna go to the hospital? Want me to put you there?” Jacob snarled.  
“Jacob, fuck off!” Bella grabbed his arm. What the fuck was her happy, ever smiling friend doing threatening Mike out of nowhere?”  
“Hey, back off, dude.” Mike backed up.  
“Jacob, you’re burning up. What the fuck is going on.”  
In an instant, the anger drained out him, replaced by panic.  
“I don’t, I don’t know what’s wrong.” his breathing spiked. “I need to go.”  
“Jacob, wait-” but he was already gone.  
“What’s his problem?” Mike scoffed.  
Bela glared at him. “Shut up Mike.”  
Well, that was weird as fuck.  
But everything would be fine tomorrow.  
Right?


	8. It's The Werewolf Angst Fella's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the good stuff

Five days. It had been five days since she'd last seen Jacob. Since he stormed out of the movie theater.

She'd called him the next day, to no answer. She'd tried the house phone, but his dad picked up instead, said Jacob had mono.

Mono her ass.

Fuck. Fuck, this couldn’t be happening. He did not just disappear the literal day he promised to never leave her. That- he wouldn’t do that. She could trust him.

But, then again, she’d thought that about someone else before.

No, no Jacob wasn’t- wasn’t him. He was different. He cared. Actually, and genuinely. He let her do things she wanted to do, he let her be her own person.

He let her feel safe, instead of captive.

Edwards ‘protection’ had been to isolate her, keep her all to himself. Though, she had followed him willing.

But Jacob- Jacob didn’t mind when she had to go to work, or do school stuff, or hang with her dad. It wasn’t a special occasion, he just felt no need to control her.

And that was nice, goddammit. She liked who she’d become since she’d started hanging out with Jacob.

And now that was all gone. Now she was alone.

Fucking again.

She spammed him for a day, begging for an answer, until her dad suggested that she give him some breathing room.

That led to her having a panic attack over her being a burden to him. Something she never fucking wanted to be.

Charlie, after the third day, sat her down.

“Listen, Bells.” he started, hands tapping. “You, uh, seem really broken up about this. I just, don’t want this turning into another Edward situation.”

Bella sighed. “No, it won’t. Edward- shit. It wasn’t him leaving that upset me, necessarily. It was the realization that I had nothing without him. That’s changed. I have stuff now, I have my job, and you, and I’ve even been talking to this lady that wants to open up a town art gallery. I’m doing stuff, dad. I’m just. Confused. We were fine, he was fine, everything was fine. But, then it wasn’t.”

“And it’s not like him to just shutdown.”

Bella shook her head. “Whenever there was something bothering him, he always came to me, always talked it out. He was good about that. So this, this is weird.”

Charlie hummed and leaned back in his seat. “I say give him a few more days. He really could just be sick.”

Then two days passed. Five days total. No Jacob.

She snapped.

It was raining, and shitty out, and she felt justified. Something was wrong, and even the fucking sky knew it.

She pulled into his driveway, and saw Jacob walking towards the garage.

Of course, she almost didn’t recognize him, since his hair was so short it didn’t even touch his ears.

Originally, she was going to be calm, but stern.

But, seeing him out in the rain, hair short, no shirt, she lost what little patience she had scrounged up.

“What the fuck, Jacob!” she roared as she slammed her truck door shut.

He stopped in his tracks, not facing her.

“I thought you were too sick to leave the house, or pick up when I called. But here you fucking are, with a fucking haircut and tattoo?” she pointed angrily at the design on his shoulder.

He turned around slowly.

“Go home, Bella.”

“No, Jacob! Not until you tell me what’s going on.” she tried to make eye contact, but he avoided her gaze. “Is this about Sam? Did he get to you?”

That got his attention. “Sam’s trying to help me! Don’t blame him. You want someone to blame? Blame the Cullen's.”

“What the hell does that mean? Tell me what’s going on!”

Jacob started to walk away.

“Jacob!” she shouted and grabbed his arm. “Look at me!”

He did. His face was emotionless, and it was heartbreaking.

“What the fuck is going on? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” she was getting choked up. “You were dumb hot, and all weird- are you sick? Like, some weird kinda sickness?”

“No, Bella. Nothing like that.”

“Then, did, did I do something? Because if so, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you-”

“You didn’t do anything, Bella.”

“Then don’t fucking do this! Don’t, you can’t just fuck with me like this! You promised you wouldn’t hurt me!”

“That’s why I’m doing this.” his voice cracked with the first sign of emotion. “The best way to keep my promise, is to keep my distance.”

“Why?” she begged. “Just tell me why.”

“It’s because of me, promise.” he grabbed her shoulders gently. “I’m, I’m not good. Anymore. I used to be, but-”

“Jacob!”

The two turned to look, and a group of guys, including Embry and the infamous Sam, were waving him over from the treeline. 

“I’m sorry, Bella, but we can’t be friends anymore. This, this it for us.”

“Jacob-” he ran towards the others. “JACOB!”

His head twitched, but he didn’t turn.

“I’LL BE BACK FOR WILLIS, ASSHOLE!” she screamed after him.

He faded into the shadows of the woods.

She got back into her car.

What the fuck just happened. What the fuck. What the fuck.

She screamed and punched the dashboard. Fucking asshole.

Whatever. What the fuck ever. It didn’t matter.

Except it did. It mattered a lot.

Fuck.

 

Five more days passed. She was starting to think that was a bad omen.

She never ended up getting Willis. But, she did make Billy, Jacob's dad, promise to not let Jacob spend any time with him. 

She couldn’t stand just sitting in her house, or the store, or the school. She felt restless. She needed to move, she needed to do something. Something new.

Apparently, that was hiking. Walking through the woods, with the subtle background noise of nature, let her think.

She knew she had messed up when she tried to talk to him. She shouldn’t have yelled at him, or sworn. That was wrong of her. She should have listened to him.

Despite how fucking silent he’d been, not giving her a damn straight answer-

Also, what did he know about the Cullen's? That had been scaring her ever since she'd realized what he was talking about.

It had to be a reference to them being vampires, right? They didn’t exactly have anything else that would warrant a reaction like that. But, what did he know, exactly? And how did it affect him?

She wished she could have asked, but she’d been emotional, and he’d been secretive. Not the best situation for sorting things out.

She groaned loudly, getting a chirp from a bird in return.

She smiled. At least the woods didn’t want to hurt her.

She tripped on a root and just barely caught herself from falling onto a jagged rock.

Never mind, everything sucks. Fuck life.

Bella righted herself and forged on. She came across a clearing, filled with brown, dead grass. Seemed the safest for her clumsy ass.

She made to cross it, but dropped her water bottle.

Goddammit.

She picked it up, and when she straightened back up, she saw a familiar, and unwelcome, face.

“Bella.”

“Laurent.” her heartbeat spiked. Well, fuck.

She blinked, and he was much closer. Great.

“I must say, I didn’t expect to see you out here.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

“Hm,” he smiled at her. “You know, I just came back from the Cullen's. Found the place abandoned. I’m surprised to find you in the same state.”

Ouch.

“Weren’t you a pet of theirs?”

Stab her, it would hurt less. Though, it mostly hurt because it was true, in a shameful way.

“What’s it to you?”

He ignored her question. “Do they visit often?”

Fuck. Okay, what was safer? Acting like she didn’t associate with them anymore, or acting like she was still under constant supervision?

“Yeah, all the time.” she fibbed. “Want me to leave a message with them or something? Well, not with Edward, obviously. He’s so protective, he’d get pretty mad.”

Gag.

“But he’s far from here, is he not?” his smile stayed strong, but his eyes betrayed his murderous intent. Shit.

Bella opted not to answer. “Why are you here?”

“I’m helping my dear friend, Victoria.” he began to pace. “She wanted to know if you were still under the Cullen’s protection.”

“Oh?” she took a step back.

“Yes, you see, she’s still quite heartbroken over James. She feels it would only be fair if she killed Edwards mate, in retaliation.”

Bella couldn’t hide her sneer. “Mate?”

“Of course.” He stopped moving. “An eye for an eye, you know?”

Fuck, she had to get out of here. “Edward would know who did it, he’d come for you.” the words sounded so fake. He didn’t give a damn about her.

“Will he? Doesn’t seem like it to me. I mean, if he really cared, why would he leave you here, unprotected?”

Valid fucking question.

Laurent sighed. “Victoria will be displeased with me being the one to kill you. But, what can I say,” he purred, “you smell too good to resist.”

“Laurent, please,” she switched to begging. “You helped us! Why would you-”

He appeared directly in front of her, delicately cupping her face. “Shhh, no, this is for you, Bella. Victoria wants to make this hurt. I will end it quickly. Promise.” he breathed into her ear.

Bella shuddered with revulsion.

He pulled away, and raised an open hand.

Fuck, this was it, wasn’t it?

Dammit. Who was going to tell Charlie?

Laurent’s hand twitched, but before it could move, they both heard twigs snapping.

“What the hell?” Laurent stared into the trees.

Bella turned to look, and saw a massive black wolf stalk out of the shadows. Like, it was huge. Way taller than her.

Its teeth were bared, and it was growling quite intimidatingly. Bella was piss her pants scared of it, 10/10.

It walked close enough Bella's nose was filled with the nasty rotted meat smell rolling off it’s mouth, and flattened it’s ears. Its growls increased in volume, and more wolves emerged from the trees. Bella counted around five. All tall, all pissed.

Shit.

Laurent seemed to share her sentiments, as he looked downright terrified. In an instant, he was making a run for it. The wolves roared and gave chase.

Well, all except for one, who stopped its growl to look at her. It was a rusty brown, and had big, gold eyes.

They looked at each other for a moment, Bella scared stiff, the wolf appearing merely… observant.

Before she could blink, it turned towards where the others had run off, and followed with a howl. 

Laurent smacked the black one away, and it landed right beside her. It quickly rejoined the fight, but that was enough to get her body working again. She made a dash for the cover of the trees, and didn’t look back.

Well, she had some news for her father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bella in the movie: Jacob talk to me :(  
> Bella here: What the FUCK RiChARD


	9. Short But That's Okay

“Dad! It’s not a bear!” she burst into the kitchen.

“What are you talking about?” he looked up from his coffee. He was sitting at the kitchen table, with his friend Harry.

“I was in the woods, and I saw-”

“Whoa, wait.” his gaze turned stern. “What were you doing in the woods?”

“Hiking, that’s not what’s important. Dad, it’s not a bear in the woods, it’s a bunch of wolves! Like, stupidly fucking huge wolves!”

“Are you sure about that Bella?” Harry asked.

“Yeah! I just saw them, like, two seconds ago! They were hunting- something.”

Harry cleared his throat and shuffled on his feet.

“Wolves? You’re sure?”

“Yes, dad, I’m sure.”

He sighed. “Alright, I believe you. Feel like going hunting, Harry? Think you can get some guys together?”

Harry nodded, oddly stiff. “Yeah, sure. I’ll just- Go do that…” he walked away.

Charlie tapped his mug against the table lightly. “Well, I better go to the station. So just, stay here? Please?”

“Yeah, of course.” she gave him a quick side hug as he left.

She took a seat at the table, and thought about what had just happened.

She figured it was safe to guess the wolves were dead. Hopefully, that didn’t mean she’d just sent her father on a wild goose chase, but it would at least solve the dead hiker problem.

Of course, it brought a new problem for her. If Laurent did kill them, and she was sure he had, he would have run straight to Victoria, and told her she was unprotected. Fuck. She was right fucked, now.

She slumped face first into the table.

How was she going to get out of this one?

That night, she did her best to sleep early.

She was failing miserably, but she was doing her best.

Her efforts were interrupted by a soft clattering against her window. Grumbling, she went to yell at whatever bird was attacking her.

Except, it wasn’t a bird.

“Bella!” Jacob called up at her, shirtless, as apparently was his go to nowadays. Lucky for him, the bastard had good abs.

“What do you want, asshole?” she slid up the frame.

“Back up, I’m coming in.”

Groaning very loudly, she did.

She didn’t see how he got up, but in mere seconds he was swinging into her room which. Wow. If he wasn’t being a dick, that would’ve been really cool.

Dimly, she realized her forgiving mood from the woods was gone, and now she was just mad.

Huh.

They stood before each other.

“Hey.” he placed his hands on his waist.

She nodded and crossed her arms.

“Look, Bella, I’m sorry, I am-” he went to move closer, but she kept him away with a closed fist.

She took a deep breath. “For what?”

He made a face. “I can’t say. Literally.” he moved around her, and looked at her bed.

They stood in silence for a bit.

“You ever had a secret? A big one, that you couldn’t tell anyone, because it wasn’t yours to share?” he sat on her bed. “Because that’s what I’m going through, right now. You- you don’t know how tightly they have me bound.”

Bella tried to stand her ground, but she cracked.

“I fucking hate this.” she moved forward and cupped his cheek. “Whatever they’ve done to you, it’s bullshit.”

He sighed, and pulled her arm down. He froze while staring at her wrist, or, more specifically, at her scar from James. Shit.

“The worst part is, you already know!” he shot off the bed. Now it was his turn to be mad.

“Jacob-”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “Do you remember? When we walked down the beach, at La Push?”

Bella nodded. “You told me the legend, about the cold ones.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, no surprise that’s what you remember.” he ducked around her again, back to the window.

“Jake, there’s got to be something you can do. Some way to get out of, whatever the hell this is.”

He shook his head. “I’m in it for life, Bell. This is it for me.”

Bella groaned and rubbed her forehead. “What- what if we left? For a while?”

“What?”

“What if we just, you know, took a vacation. Take the truck, or Samantha, and get away.”

For a moment, she saw hope in his eyes. All too quickly, it was gone.

“We can’t, Bella. You can’t leave Charlie, or your job, and I can’t leave my family.”

“Or Willis?”

He actually smiled. “I could never leave Willis.”

She sighed. “Yeah, me neither. I miss him.”

“He misses you too.”

“I bet.”

Jacob moved forward suddenly, and offered his hand. Bella, though surprised, took it.

“I can’t run from this, but I would, for you.”

She dipped her head.

He gave her hand a tight squeeze. “I have to go, before they start looking for me.”

Grinding her teeth, she pulled him into a hug. “This is horseshit, Jacob Black.”

He buried his head deeper into her shoulder. “Promise you’ll try to remember the rest of the legend?”

She nodded fiercely. “I’m gonna figure this out, promise.”

“Thank you.” he pulled away. “Good bye, Bella.”

“See you,” she waved sadly.

He returned to the open window, and leaped out.

“Jake!” she dashed over, but he landed safely, and ran into the woods.

She slumped back onto her bed. She was going to figure out what was going on with him, no matter what.

And then she was going to beat the shit out of Sam for whatever the fuck he dragged Jacob into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, knowing I posted the past three chapters without editing them and that I have to go fix them: ;”(


	10. The Tea

Bella was ashamed to say the information she was missing came to her in a dream. She was frustrated with herself for not remembering consciously, but the important thing was she remembered.

Jacob had mentioned shapeshifters in his story, and that the quileute tribe supposedly descended from wolves. That basically screamed werewolves. The wolves she’d seen in the woods only fueled that theory.

Which, okay, she’d dealt with vampires, she could deal with that. But, why the fuck did that mean Sam had to make Jacob his prisoner?

Bella decided to find out.

She drove over to Jacob’s house, not saying a word to Charlie about it.

She pounded on the door, and Billy answered, Willis perched on his shoulder.

“Hey Baby,” she cooed and held her arm out. Happily, the bird hopped on, and began to groom her. “I know, it’s been far too long. But, I’m here to fix that.”

“Jacob’s not here.” Billy said quickly.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Black, but I have to see him.” she swerved around him, and made her way through the house.

“Bella!” he called back to her, but she ignored him.

She swung open Jacob’s door, and found him sleeping.

Oops.

Willis squawked and hopped onto Jacob’s body.

She took a moment to examine his face, looking for signs of sickness, or distress. Thankfully, he merely looked peaceful.

Then she heard mocking howls outside. She looked outside Jake’s window, and saw his gang of shirtless assholes approaching.

Oh, hell no. They weren’t getting to him this time.

She stormed out of the house and marched over to them.

“What the hell did you do to him?” she growled. “Huh? He didn’t want any of this shit, why’d you do it to him?”

“What do you mean, what did we do?” Sam asked.

“What did he tell you?” another boy, one she didn’t recognize, cut in.

“Nothing, because he’s scared of you motherfuckers.” she snapped, getting in his face.

“Calm down, Paul, Bella,” Sam tried to intercept them.

Paul laughed at Bella.

Bella snapped.

Before she was even really aware of what she was doing, she had socked Paul in the jaw.

Embry’s eyes widened. “Bella, run.”

“Bella, you have to get out of here.” Sam ordered.

Paul began to shake violently, and growl.

She took a step back. “What-”

“Bella, now!”

She backed away further as Sam tried to calm Paul down. It didn’t work.

Before she was even five steps away, he began to convulse violently, then leaped into the air.

When he landed, he was a large, furious, grey wolf.

Ah, so she had been right. What a terrible way to find out.

Bella dashed towards the house. Jacob emerged from the front porch, and hopped over the railing, shouting her name.

“Jake!” she screamed. “Jake, run!”

He did, but towards her, and the danger.

“Bella, I’m coming!”

“Jake, I’m fucking serious! Run!” she had almost reached him, but he launched himself over her head. She fell to the ground, and she turned around, there were two wolves in front of her.

Turns out, Jacob was the rusty brown wolf from the woods. Who knew.

Jacob and Paul snapped and snarled at each other, biting and throwing each other around.

Bella was jolted out of her shock when Paul almost bit Jacobs throat.

“Hey! Get the fuck off of him!” She began to hurl stones at the grey wolf.

“Embry, get her out of here!” Sam ordered.

Paul and Jake smashed through a rowboat, and into the trees.

“Jacob!” she tried to run to him, but Embry grabbed her.

“We have to go.”

“Will he be okay?” she craned around him, trying to spot her friend.

He forced her to make eye contact. “Yes, but he’d want you somewhere safe. So, come on. We’re going to Sam’s house.”

She struggled for a moment longer, then relented. “If Jacob gets fucking hurt I’m gonna rip Paul’s tail off.”

“And no one will stop you.” the other that was with them assured her.

They got into her truck, Embry behind the wheel, the other boy, Jared apparently, excitedly taking the open back.

The entire ride there Embry was very calm, making conversation, telling jokes, and generally being unworried.

Bella hoped that was a sign that Jacob was definitely fine.

Eventually, they pulled up to a log cabin, hidden deep in the trees.

“I bet Paul totaled Jacob.” Jared grinned at Embry.

“No way,” the other teen scoffed. “Did you see how fast he shifted? Jake’s a natural. He’s winning for sure.”

He shot Bella a wink as he said that, and that made her feel a bit better.

She was still damn pissed, though.

They approached the door, but Embry pulled her to a stop.

“Just, don’t stare too much, okay? Makes Emily uncomfortable.”

“What?”

“Just, do what I said, okay?”

More than all done with werewolves being cryptic, Bella decided to save herself the headache and nod.

“Alright, let’s go.”

He opened the door, and they filled in.

“Hey, boys!” a tall woman called from where she was cooking at a stove. The door opened into a kitchen/dining room, and the werewolves didn’t hesitate to sit at the table.

Bella hung back awkwardly.

“Oh, you brought a friend?” Emily turned towards her, and Bella gasped.

First things first, she was gorgeous. Just, absolutely beautiful.

Secondly, she had three angry scars across her cheek.

“Hi, I’m Emily!” she smiled. “Muffin?”

Bella gave her head a shake, and smiled back. “I’m Bella, and uh, yeah. I’ll take a muffin.”

Emily handed it to her and escorted her to the table. “Want orange juice? Anything?”

“No, I’m fine.” Bella took a polite bite.

Emily moved behind Jared’s chair. “So, you’re the vampire girl, huh?”

Bella flinched, but Emily’s face showed no hostility, only amusement.

“Does that make you the wolf girl?”

Emily laughed. “Guess so.” she moved back to the stove, and brought over a tray of muffins. “Make sure to save some for your brothers.”

“They deserve to starve.” Jared muttered darkly, and Embry smacked him.

“Dumb edgy bitch.”

Jared grinned and shoved him back.

“So, I can’t say I’m surprised Jacob found a way around Sam’s rule.” Emily leaned against a wooden island.

“He didn’t tell me anything, not directly. I had to piece it together. And, you know, the big wolf trying to bite my head off gave it away.”

“So that’s where Paul is.” she furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry about that, he’s still trying to control his anger.”

Bella nodded.

“Jacob couldn’t tell you anything anyways. He’s always gotta obey his alpha.” Embry rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t think Jacob cared that much about authority.”

“No, it’s an actual wolf thing.” Embry said around a mouthful of muffin. “The pack has to obey its alpha. Which is pretty lame, but we can hear each other’s thoughts, so that’s kinda cool. Makes me feel like I’m an x-men type mutant or something.”

“Dammit, Embry, you are shit at keeping secrets. No wonder Quill found out right away.” that got Jared a hard smack.

“Shut up, you emo loser.”

“Hey, I’m not the one spilling trade secrets to the girl that runs with vampires.”

“I don’t.” Bella interjected quickly. “Vampires suck. Well, okay, Carlisle and Alice are nice, but the others? They’re awful.”

Embry laughed victoriously. “Ha! See? She’s come around to the light side.”

“Well, when I compare you to the other monsters I’ve met, I wouldn’t say you’re doing much better than them.”

Embry held a hand to his chest. “You’ve wounded me, Bella.”

“Someone ought to humble you.” Sam came in through the door and headed straight for Emily.

He greeted her with a kiss on the lips, then cheek, then the other cheek, and then all over her face, while she laughed.

Bella straightened up when she saw Sam, and began craning her head to catch sight of Jacob. He came in the door, fully dressed, and playfully shoving Paul. She relaxed slightly, realizing that they had settled their fight.

She hoped Jacob won.

Paul eagerly took a seat and grabbed a muffin, muttering an apology to Bella.

Humph.

Jacob hung back by the door, and motioned for her to follow him.

Taking a deep breath, she did.

They walked in the woods for a bit, before coming across a beach. They walked along the shore, and Bella tried to figure out what to say.

“So. You’re a dog.”

Nice.

Jacob chuckled. “Uh, wolf, but yeah. I’ve got that wolfy shit, as the old ones say.”

Bella snorted. “You mean Sam?”

“Yeah, he’s ancient.”

“Oh, of course.” Bella paused, remembering some very old people she knew. “But like, actually?”

“Nah, not supernaturally.”

“Okay. good.”

They walked on, Bella kicking some rocks, Jake splashing in the waves.

“How does it happen?”

Jacob shrugged. “Whenever a vamp moves in, the fever does too. After that, we get all hairy and shit.”

“So, uh, do you have to… do this? Like, the whole werewolf thing. It looks like you can change on command, so why don’t you just… not?”

Jake sighed and rubbed his nose. “It’s not- it’s not that easy, Bell. I’m apart of a group now, I have responsibilities. Responsibilities that keep you and the rest of the town safe, by the way.”

“Killing hikers keeps us safe?”

He stopped in his tracks. “What- Bella, no! We stop the things that kill the hikers!”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we stop the vampires that run through here and eat people.”

Bella sighed in relief. “Dammit Jake, I was so scared they’d made you a murderer.”

“No, no, we don’t kill people. We only kill vampires, like that guy with the dreadlocks.”

“Laurent?” another pang of relief. So, that means he didn’t get the chance to tell Victoria about her.

“If that was his name, yes. His redheaded friend his next.”

That made her blood run cold. “Girl?”

Jacob nodded. “Yeah, we chased her all the way to the Canadian border the other night, but she came right back. We don’t know why, though.”

Bella took a shaky breath and sat on the sand. “Shit.”

“What, what’s wrong?” he dropped beside her, and his hands hovered near her shoulders.

“That vampire? Her names Victoria. She’s here for me. She wants to kill me, to get revenge on Edward.”

“What, why?”

She pulled up her sleeve, revealing her bite scar. “Her boyfriend, or mate, or whatever, did this. Edward killed him for it. She wants to kill me in return.”

Gently, he covered the mark. “We won’t let her, Bella. We’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

She leaned into him. “Vampires can suck my dick at this point, I’m so done with them.”

He breathed a laugh. “You and me both.”

He accompanied her home, and assured her the pack was keeping the area safe.

“Now that we know what she’s after, we’ll keep a closer watch on this side of town, too.” he promised.

“Thanks, Jacob.” she twisted your hand. “Just, promise to be careful? She’s dangerous, and fast, and- just be careful.”

He gave her a brief hug. “We’ll be fine. She’s not the first fast vampire we’ve come across.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” they pulled away.

“Well, I better go now. Gotta let the boys know what’s up.”

“Okay. Tell Paul he’s a bitch for me.”

He hooted a laugh. “Will do.”

Then, he ran off into the night.


	11. Sorta Sad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeah fella's, this is the one where Bella jumps off the cliff, so if suicide thoughts aren't your thing, you can skip the to the good cuddle shit

Finally knowing what was going on with Jacob had lifted a weight off her shoulders. Bella felt she could breathe easier now that she knew he didn't hate her, or get mixed up in some weirdass gang. Well, he kind of was, but that was okay.

She felt guilty for setting her dad upon them, but Jacob assured her Harry knew their secret, and that he was keeping her father distracted.

That didn't stop her from worrying about both of them. Victoria was a major threat, and she didn't want either parties getting hurt.

To keep herself occupied, she worked extra shifts at the flower shop, and stopped by Jacob's house to play with Willis.

Billy was thankful for the company, challenging her to games of cards, which she almost always lost. The only one who really seemed to mind was Willis, since time Bella spent losing was time spent not giving him head scratches.

"You're such a needy baby." she'd coo whenever he interrupted their games with his loud squawking.

Five days passed since she'd found out Jacob's wolfy secret, and she found herself growing paranoid. No way was something bad going to happen again, right? That would be too weird. She'd have to start seriously considering the possibility she was cursed.

Thankfully, the day ended, and nothing bad happened.

She wished she could say the same for when she walked into the flower shop two days later.

It was early in the morning, a Saturday. She'd been given a key to the store long ago, so she wasn't too concerned when she found the door locked. The lights were also off, so Bella figured Martha was having a late morning. She decided to start watering the flowers, as that was a job she was confident to do without Martha around. She didn't even like to look at the register without the older woman at least in the back.

She headed there herself, flipping on lights as she passed.

She ran a checklist through her head. Alright, which plants needed water first? And which needed the most? She liked hitting those first, so her noodle arms got a break with the plants that needed the little watering can.

She went about her chores, and still no Martha. Huh, okay. Well, it was getting close to opening.

Begrudgingly, she flipped the open sign, and went to the register. She'd opened up shop a few times, but never liked doing it. She was always afraid she'd mess up somehow.

The day passed slowly, a few people coming in for succulents, one girl coming in asking for advice on which flowers to give to her girlfriend, and some friends of Martha, coming to see her.

By as noon approached, and she hadn't even gotten a call from her boss, Bella felt her anxiety spike. She called her. Nothing. She called continuously for the next hour, still no response.

After the last voicemail response, she closed the store, and got into her truck. Trying not to panic, she sped over to Martha's house. She banged on the door, no sign of her. Her car was sitting in her driveway, which wasn't unusual, since she liked to walk to and from work.

Past the woods...

"Fuck."

Hands shaking, she tried to follow the path Martha usually took home. She'd seen her walking a few times, and forced herself to remember the woman's route.

She passed a dense patch of the forest, and slammed on the breaks.

Please, no-

She ran into the trees, screaming for her elderly friend.

"Martha! Martha, can you hear me?!"

She dashed around trees and slipped on rocks. Finally, she found her.

Mangled and bloody, hanging from a tree.

Bella fell to her knees and wailed.

She was so stupid. Of course Victoria would go for people close to her. This wasn't just about Edward, now the ginger bitch wanted to get back at Bella. Fuck, Charlie was in the woods! She'd probably get him too. Him, and all his mean, and Harry. She'd go after Jacob next. Jacob and Embry and the others- she'd kill them all. Everyone she cared about would be fucking dead because of her. Because of Bella fucking Swan, and her ex boyfriend.

Fuck. Fuck!

She was useless. She was horrible. She deserved to die.

Maybe, if she did, Victoria would stop. She wanted Bella to die, right? So Bella should just do it for her.

And she knew exactly how.

She stumbled back to her car, tears and snot running down her face, and clumsily got into the driver's seat.

She drove on autopilot, the same thoughts swirling in her head.

This is my fault, I did this, I have to pay for it.

Soon the cliff came into view. She sped up.

Eventually she got to a spot where she could easily access the cliff, and she got out of her car.

She weaved around trees until she reached the drop.

She took her coat off.

Okay, easy peasy. Jump off the cliff, drown, keep everyone else she cared about safe.

Simple.

She took a deep breathe.

She could do this.

She closed her eyes and took the plunge.

The fall was cold, and the wind hurt as it whipped around her.

Seconds before she hit the water, she realized she didn't want to die. She wanted to find a way to stop Victoria, to make her see justice. But it was too late for that.

She crashed into the water, and fuck, did it hurt. Movies always made it seem like it softened the blow, but her whole body smarted with the pain.

She gasped, and water shot into her mouth. Shit, that was cold and gross.

She saw a splash in front of her. What?

She looked closer, and say red hair flowing in the water, along with glowing red eyes.

Shit! Victoria!

Bella violently propelled herself backwards, and smacked her head hard off of the cliff.

The last thing she saw was Victoria's leering face.

Gross.

"Breathe! Breath, goddammit!"

Bella was genuinely surprised when she choked up water.

After gagging the grimy water, she tried to take in her surroundings.

She was on the beach, pressed up against someone, soaking wet and in severe pain.

Ow, fuck.

"Wha-" she tried to speak, but started coughing.

"Shh, it's okay. Don't speak. Just breathe." warm arms wrapped around her, and she eagerly leaned into the warm touch.

After taking a minute to catch her breath, she looked up.

"Jake?"

He smiled through his tears. "Yea, Bell. It's me. I'm here. You're okay."

"What happened, where's," her eyes widened and she tried to crawl away. "Victoria! I saw her! She was right there!"

Jacob tightened his grip on her. "Hey, hey, it's okay. She's gone, I scared her off. She won't touch you, promise."

Bella relaxed into his arms.

"Shit. shit. Jake, she-" Bella choked on a sob. "She killed Martha."

"I'm so sorry, Bella."

She began to cry again, thankful for Jacob's presence. It was much better than crying in the woods, as here, when her thoughts ran out of her mouth, Jacob could talk her down.

"I got her killed."

"Victoria killed her because she's evil. You didn't do anything."

"She's gonna kill Charlie next."

"There's always at least one wolf watching him. We may not be able to stop her just yet, but we always scare her off."

"I'm useless."

"Of course you're not. You helped a lot of people, Bella. It's not your fault you couldn't help this one."

Finally, after what felt like hours, she calmed down.

"Thanks."

"Anytime." he smiled at her.

He offered her a hand, and she took it. He pulled her to her feet, and asked where the truck was.

She led him, and when they got there, he wrapped her in all the blankets in the truck, and turned the heater on. He drove them to her house.

She pressed herself up against him. Despite all the measurements he had taken, he was still the best heat source.

"You're so warm." she mumbled into his shoulder.

"Yeah, that's a wolf thing."

She shook her wet hair. "No, it's a you thing. You always make me feel happy and warm."

The teen blushed. "Okay, Bella."

They pulled up to her house, and Jacob turned off the engine.

"I'm happy you know, now. It was awful keeping it from you."

"Yeah, you being all emo sucked."

Jacob laughed, but it trailed off.

Bella sat up. "What's wrong?"

Jacob sighed. "Look, you saw what happened to Emily, yeah? Sam did that. He didn't mean to, he'd never even dream of hurting her, but... when you first start shifting, it's hard to control, especially when you're mad."

"Like with Paul?"

"Yeah, like with Paul. You know, Sam got kinda pissy, lost control for barely even a second, and Emily was standing too close. I couldn't- I can't let that happen to you. It's not fair to you."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Jacob Elsabeth Black-"

"-That's not my middle name-"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. Embry said you have amazing control over your shifting, and I believe him. You can totally control it. And-"

She raised a hand before he could interrupt. "Even if you can't, I'd understand, because it obviously wouldn't be on purpose."

He gave her a look.

"Jacob, I've dated someone who actively wanted to kill me, and had no shame in saying it. I think I can handle someone who might, on the off chance, accidentally hurt me."

He sighed again. "Edward really said that?"

"Practically everyday. If I wore so much as a t-shirt he was raving about how much her wanted to drain me of my blood."

Jacob winced. "Gross. I still can't believe you dated him."

"I'm not proud of it." she shrugged. "But it taught me some things."

"I'm sorry you had to learn them like that."

She nuzzled up against him again. "It's okay, it's over now. Now, I can find someone who cares, who doesn't literally want to kill me, and who, you know, I can actually spend the rest of my life with, without regret."

"Oh?" he inhaled sharply.

"Yeah." she smiled into his neck. "I'm pretty excited about it, to be honest."

They sat like that for a bit, then Jacob shuffled.

"You should- you should go inside. Change your clothes, try not to die of hypothermia. The usual."

Bella laughed. "Yeah, okay. Will do."

She opened the door, but before she could even get a leg out, Jacob slammed her door shut.

"Hey-!"

"Vampire. I smell a vampire."

She froze. "Really?"

He nodded.

Bella scanned the area around them as he turned the car back on and prepared to drive away.

"Wait!" she threw an arm out to stop him. "That's Carlisle's car!"

Jacob stiffened. "You don't think-"

"I don't know, but I need to find out." she tried to leave again.

"Bella, don't! You don't know what he wants, and I can't follow you in there."

"What, why?"

"We have a treaty with the Cullens. They could stay in the area, on certain conditions. One of them being they don't go on our land, and we don't go on theirs. If they're back, then, I can't go in there with you."

Bella released a deep breath. "Jacob, I appreciate your concern, but I have to now."

"Bella, please. Don't." he begged.

She gave his arm a gentle pat. "I promise I won't die."

He swallowed heavily, but didn't resist when she pulled away.

"Be safe."

"Always." she forced a smile, and closed the door.

Time to confront her demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> probably one of my favourite moments of the movie, like, I changed it up, but I really do like how they did it


	12. I'm More Done With Vampires Than This Bella and Movie Jacob Combined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3000+ words uwu
> 
> also I was so pissed off at the vampires bullshit in this part of the movie i posted this chapter rushed and without a title so uh here's the fixed up version

Cautiously, she approached the house.

She had no idea what Edward could possibly want from her. Her blood, maybe? That would be shitty.

Dammit, of course he couldn't wait for her to change her clothes. He had to come when she was sopping wet and mourning her boss.

She opened the door, and slowly entered.

"Bella!"

She spun around, and her eyes lit up.

"Alice!" she pulled the vampire into a probably cold and unpleasant hug.

Alice pushed her back to arms length.

"Would you care to explain what the hell you were doing jumping off a cliff?"

"What?"

"I saw a vision, Bella! So answer the question!"

Bella faltered under her stern gaze. "Uh, cliff diving? All the cool kids do it. Yeah, I had a lot of fun. Will probably do it again."

"God help me, are you lying to me?"

"Are you sure you should ask for His help?"

Alice shook her friend. "Why did you try to kill yourself??"

Bella winced. "My, my boss died. Because of Victoria. And I felt bad about it."

Alice sighed and pulled her back in for a hug. "I'm sorry, Bella. That must have been awful." she released the hug, and gave her friend a once over. "Here, I'll make you some tea, and you go change."

Eagerly, Bella did as she said, and soon she was seated on the couch in a white band tee, sweats, and the fuzziest socks she owned.

A blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, and she took small sips from her steaming mug.

"You are- so incredibly stupid." Alice scolded. "Jumping off a cliff like that. I can't believe you! You are such a lovely girl, and you have so much to live for! The world would be so dark without you."

Bella flushed. "Stop it, that's not true. I have, like, two friends. The world would be just fine without me."

Alice gave her light tap on the cheek. "Wrong. Very wrong."

Bella giggled. "Okay, okay." She sobered as a dark thought came over her. "Does- did you tell him?"

Alice hesitated. "No, no I didn't. He doesn't- we don't really know where he is? He calls in every now and then, but that's it. He's, uh, he's taking some alone time."

Bella ducked her head. Shit. Was she supposed to feel happy about that? Guilty? She wasn't sure.

"Ugh, Bella, what is that smell? It's like, wet dog?" she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Bella straightened up. "Oh, ha, that must be Jacob. Well, Jacob's smell on me."

"Jacob?"

"My, um, werewolf friend."

Alice gave her a disapproving look. "Bella, I'm not sure that a, uh, werewolf is the best company to keep-"

"I don't think I'm that bad."

"Jacob?" Bella watched him walk in from the kitchen. "Wait, did you break in through the backdoor?"

His cheeks darkened, but his face remained stoic. "Maybe."

"Goddammit."

"Look, I'm sorry. I got worried. The Cullen's- I know how much they've hurt you. I didn't want you facing that on your own."

"But the treaty?"

"Doesn't matter, not if it puts you in danger."

Bella smiled with a huff. "Dumb wolf. Well, you don't have to worry, Alice was just making sure I was okay."

"Yes, I would never hurt Bella." Alice was now standing beside the couch, though Bella hadn't seen her move.

"It's not you so much I'm worried about, it's the vampire you left behind."

Alice made a face. "What?"

"He means Victoria."

Alice scrunched her brows. "But- but I didn't see her. Or you getting pulled out of the water." she glared at Jacob. "I can't see anything around you mutts."

"Hey," Bella snapped, "Jacob is my friend. Don't be mean to him."

Alice closed her eyes and sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry."

Bella gave Jacob a look.

"It's okay."

"Thank you." Bella nodded, satisfied. "So, Alice-"

"Yeah, I'll give you a moment." she smiled softly at Bella. "I'll be back when your- friend has gone home."

"Thank you, Alice." Bella got off the couch, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into the kitchen.

She leaned against the far counter, and he hung back by the doorway.

"So? Is he..." he trailed off when he saw Bella's face. "Uh, I mean, are any other Cullen's in the area?"

She shook her head. "No, just Alice."

"Okay, um." he bit his cheek. "Are the others going to come here?"

"No, I don't think so. Don't see why they'd need to." she crossed her arms. "Do you have a problem?"

Jacob shook his head vigorously. "I'm just looking out for you."

She ran a hand through her hair. "I know, and that's nice of you. But, the Cullen's, fuck. They're just a touchy spot for me. So, if you see Alice again, be nice, okay?"

Jacob gave a jerky nod. He was biting his lower lip.

"What? What is it?"

He took a deep breath. "What- I mean, you thought it was going to be him, right? What would you have done if it was?"

Bella flinched. "I don't know. Probably cried some more, if I could. Maybe scream, if I was feeling brave. I'm not sure. He's, he's hurt me so deeply, and I can see that now, and I can see how- how dumb I was for falling for him, for wanting him. But, I still have good memories. I just, wanted closure, I guess."

Jacob walked closer. "Do you want him back?'

She scoffed. "Please, Jacob. Give me some credit."

"I'm sorry. I was just wondering." he was right in front of her.

"I'm never going back to him. Ever. Really, I just want to punch his dumb sparkly balls."

Jacob chuckled quietly. "I'll hold him down for you."

She looked up at him, smiling. "I'll give him the ol' one two, and he'll never be able to have kids."

"Can vampires have kids?"

"Fuck, for his future girlfriends sake, I hope not."

They both laughed, and their foreheads touched.

They stared into each others eyes, black peering into brown.

"You really are beautiful." she murmured.

Their eyes closed, and they both leaned in.

Just as their lips brushed each others, the phone rang, loudly and rudely ruining the moment.

Huffing angrily, Jacob pulled away and grabbed the phone.

"Swan residence," he greeted brusquely. A pause. "No, sorry, he's planning a funeral."

The other person hung up.

"Funeral?" Bella tilted her head.

"Harry had a heart attack in the forest today. He's dead."

"Shit, Jake, I'm sorry." she placed a comforting hand on his arm.

Jacob's expression was cold, and it unnerved her.

"Jake? Who called?"

Jacob avoided eye contact. "Edward."

"Dammit Jake!" she whirled angrily on her feet. "I just fucking said I needed closure!"

"He asked for Charlie!"

"So? Next time pass it to me!"

Alice appeared beside Bella.

"Shit! Alice!" Bella clutched her chest.

"Bella, Edward thinks you're dead!" she exclaimed. "Rosalie told him where I was going, and he thinks you're dead!"

Bella glared at Jacob. "Great. So? What is he going to do?"

"He's going to ask the Volturi to kill him, but they'll refuse. So, he'll make a scene. He's going to expose himself to humans."

Bella groaned and pulled at her hair. "Fuck. Okay. So, what I'm getting from this is, we have to stop Edward from committing suicide?"

Alice nodded.

"Who's fucking romeo now?" she asked grimly.

"What?" Jacob quirked a brow.

"You're the only one who can stop him, you have to come to Italy with me." Alice talked over his question. 

Bella took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll go."

"But-" Bella shot him a dirty look. "Right. Closure. Okay, then, uh, what do you need me to do?'

"Run damage control with Charlie, tell him I'm safe, just stepping out of town for a bit."

"Okay."

Bella scrambled together some quick supplies, and hopped into the Cullen's nice car.

"Be safe, Bella. Please." Jacob begged through the open car window.

She reached for his hand, and gave it a squeeze. "You too, Jake."

He nodded, and backed away.

"Alright, Alice, let's go."

It took two car rides, and one plane ride, but Bella was finally on her way to saving Edwards ass, and then she'd never have to see him again. She'd told Alice as much.

"I'm doing this to repay him for saving my life, not because I still care. After this, we're done. I don't mind talking to you still, but I need Edward do stay away, forever."

Alice nodded. "I understand, and I'm sorry things ended up this way."

"It's not your fault." Bella looked around at the very nice car they were in. "Uh, also, who's car is this?"

Alice smirked. "Does it matter?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Vampires; so dramatic."

Alice's eyes glittered. "It's one of our abilities."

"Is it now? So, you get sparkle skin, super speed, and a pension for the dramatics?"

"Of course, making us the perfect being."

Bella snorted. "Okay, Alice. Whatever you say."

Alice smiled at her, then redirected her attention to the road. They had pulled into a village, and a sea of people in red made way for them. Bella leaned forward in her seat.

"Why are they dressed like that?"

Alice coughed. "Oh, uh, they're celebrating the expulsion of vampires from the city."

"You're joking. The city where the vampire royalty live is the place where they have a day dedicated to there being no vampires?"

Alice shrugged sheepishly. "It makes for a good cover."

They drove up a hill, but policemen stopped them.

"Dammit, okay, we have five minutes till he pulls his little stunt under the clock tower. You run to him, let him know you're fine. I'll stay here."

Bella nodded and hurtled out of the car.

If she survived her suicide attempt, than goddammit, he was surviving his.

She pushed her way through the crowd, taking care to not step on anyone. She ran up and down alleys, through the crowd, and empty streets, wishing she'd looked at a map before she'd done this.

Finally, she found the clock tower, and Edward was just about to step out into the sunlight.

"Oh, hell no." she muttered and charged through a fountain to get to him.

He pulled off his shirt, and took a step out of the shadows.

"Edward!" she shouted right before she reached him. "Move, now!"

He opened his eyes slowly. "Bella?"

"Move!" she gave his sparkling body a shove.

He complied, pulling her into a hug as he backed up into the building. She squeaked at the pressure.

She pulled away as soon as she got the chance.

He smiled at her, but it faded when he saw her stern expression.

"Bella?"

"Yes?" 

His forehead wrinkled with confusion. "What's wrong?"

She took a step backwards. "Look, I had to let you see me, and I had to see you. Just one more time. So, so that I can finally let you go, for good."

"Let me go? Why would you do that?"

Bella couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you shitting me? You left!" 

"Bella, I did this for you, to keep you safe. I couldn't live in a world where you didn't exist, and if my family caused you to die- then we had no right to be around you."

Her blood ran cold when she heard that. I left you to keep you safe. That's what Jacob had said. With him, the words had hurt, because she knew he meant it. Now, they felt empty,

"You said-"

"I lied." he stepped closer. "I had to. You believed me so easily." he leaned in.

She raised a hand to his chest, keeping him away. "Because it made fucking sense."

He startled at that. "What do you mean?"

"You never cared, Edward. I was a game to you, and I used to be happy with that. But I know now I can do so much better, that I deserve better. I don't need you, Edward, and I don't want you. I came to repay a debt, and that's what I did. You saved my life, I saved yours. We're even."

"Bella-"

"Stay back." she kept him away with a closed fist. "I'm leaving, Edward, and you'll never see me again."

He pushed her arm away, and tried to get closer again, but two vampires approached them.

Edward's gaze never left her. "Turns out I won't be needing your services after all, gentlemen."

The taller of the two spoke. "Aro wishes to see you again."

"No rules were broken." he finally looked at them.

"Yes, but, he still wants to see you. So, come," the shorter instructed.

Edward huffed. "Bella, go enjoy the festival. We'll talk more later."

Bella opened her mouth to state, once again, that she never wanted to see him again, but one of the vampires spoke before she could. 

"No, the girl comes with us."

Shit. Mixed up in more vampire bs. Great.

There was a loud clang behind Bella, and she turned to see Alice forcing her way into the building. She stood protectively in front of Bella, shooting her a reassuring look. 

"Come on, now, gentlemen," she smiled sweetly. "You don't want to make a scene at the festival, do you?"

"No, we wouldn't."

A blonde woman in dark clothing marched up to them.

"Jane," Edward and Alice looked down politely.

Bella made sure to look the bitch directly in her deep red eyes.

"Aro sent me to see what was taking so long." her eyes flitted between all of them, stopping on Bella.

Without another word, she turned back around, and walked away.

Wait, what? That was it?

The others followed her, and Bella reluctantly did as well.

"Just, do as she says." Alice advised when she saw the humans hesitation.

It was! All she had to do was say some dude was getting impatient, and they were all following her! What the hell?

The taller vampire handed Edward a red cloak, to cover up with.

Bella glanced back at his shirt, which was literally two steps away, and rolled her eyes.

Dumbass bloodsuckers.

They walked down a shit ton of hallways, and Bella was honestly getting bored. One would expect her to be scared in this situation, but she had genuinely run out of fucks to give. She was just gonna see where this all led her.

They descended a flight of stairs, and Edward forcefully grabbed her hand.

"Don't be scared." he whispered.

"No problem."

Jane scoffed at them, then ushered them into an elevator.

"Fancy," Bella mumbled at the cracked walls and overall rickety feeling.

The elevator ride sucked. Edward was very obviously huffing down her scent, as were the other male vampires. Jane kept sneaking glances, and smirking at Bella.

Just, a great ride, overall. Definitely something she was looking forward to when they had to leave. Or, if they got to leave? Hell if Bella knew which one.

They got out, and followed Jane again. They entered a fancy lobby, and were greeted by a receptionist.

She said something in Italian, which Bella assumed was a greeting.

"Human?"

"Yes." Edward kept his grip tight.

"Does she know?"

Another yes.

"So then why-"

"She wants to be, so she will be."

"Unless she deserts." Jane cut in.

Huh. Bella had no fucking idea what that meant. Probably something about turning the lady into a vampire? Who the fuck knew. Goddamn undead bitches. 

They walked past the desk, and into another, bigger room.

A young looking vampire called out to Jane. "They send you to get one, and you bring back two and a half. What an overachiever, you are."

Whoa, wait, half? Fuck that guy in particular. 

Before them were three vampires, sitting in rather fancy thrones.

"What a surprise!" the one in the middle stood. "Your darling Bella is still with us!"

He walked towards her, and she backed as far away as Edward would let her.

"Oh, I just love a good happy ending." the creepy man grinned.

He grabbed Edwards hand, the one that Bella's was in, and held it in both of his.

Quickly, Bella darted closer to Alice, who moved in front of her.

Edward grunted softly as creepy man held his hand, and Bella wondered what he was doing.

Creepy man mumbled in Italian, then let his eyes scan Bella. "Your thirst for her is so strong, it affects even me."

Bella swallowed. How in the hell did she used to think that was okay?

"How can you stand to be so close?"

"It's not easy." Edward replied.

Creepy man chuckled. "Yes, I can tell."

Bella made a confused noise.

"He can read my every thought with one touch."

Yikes. Mega invasive power. Creepy Man seemed a fitting name for him, then.

"So, now you know everything. Do what you will."

Creepy Man moved towards Bella. "You have the ability to read thoughts, but not hers. This is very interesting."

Alice covered her further.

He stood a respectable ways back, and held out his hand. "May I see if the same applies to me?"

Bella trembled, and looked to Alice.

"It's okay," she whispered, "it won't hurt."

Taking a deep breath, she extended her hand, and took his.

He pulled her closer, and cupped both of his hands around hers.

He leaned down, almost kissing them.

Ugh.

The other vampires stared at them in interest.

Bella wondered if it was going to feel anything other than awkward, because his cold hand wasn't really much of a reason to grunt like Edward had. Maybe he was just a pussy.

Creepy Man looked back up at her, and smiled. "Hmm. I see nothing."

Thank fuck, because she'd had a really embarrassing phase two months before she'd moved to Forks, involving some, uh, anthropomorphic art, and she was very happy dying as the only person who knew that.

He turned around, and walked closer to his throne.

He spun on his heel, and smiled at Jane.

"Let's see if she's immune to all our powers, shall we?"

The blonde nodded, and, almost grinning, turned towards Bella.

"No!" Edward shouted and moved in front of her, as Jane spoke.

"Pain."

Edward collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.

"What the hell?" Bella backed up, clutching onto Alice's hand.

Alice broke away to comfort her brother, and Bella feared that would make her feel the pain too.

"Stop, just stop!" she pleaded. "Make her stop, please!"

Creepy man never stopped smiling. "Jane?"

She blinked, then turned to him. "Master?"

Edward stilled on the ground.

"Go ahead."

Jane made eye contact with Bella, and again, said "Pain."

Bella flinched, but felt nothing. A few seconds passed, and Jane's face fell. Guess it didn't work on her. 

Huh, nice.

Creepy Man giggled in excitement. "Marvelous! Not a single one of us can affect her!" He hummed and put a finger to his chin. "So, what to do with her?"

"You already know." one of the other throne vampires spoke up. "She knows too much. She's a threat. There's nothing else to do."

Creepy man hummed in disappointment.

Bella scowled at him.

"Yes, you're right." he nodded to the vampires behind them. "Boys?"

"No!" Edward shouted, and threw punches at the vampire closest to him. 

The vampire blocked him, and threw him across the room. This went on for a bit longer, Edward snarling, but overall being no match for the other. Soon, he had Edward stuck in a headlock. 

Alice struggled as well, but they pinned her down.

Finally, with her allies out of the way, they grabbed Bella. 

"Hey, no! Fuck off!" she wriggled against their painful grips as they dragged her towards Creepy Man.

He loomed over her, still smiling.

"You were certainly an interesting human."

He reached out for her face, but Alice screamed.

"You can't! She's been imprinted on!"

Creepy man froze.

"What?"

Alice shoved the vampires off of her, and got up. "She's been imprinted on by a werewolf in the Quileute tribe."

"So? What need do we have to honour their rules?" a throne vampire demanded.

"If rumour spreads you killed a werewolves mate, they'll be furious. You'll have a werewolf fight on your hands, and I know you don't want that. You just recovered from the last one."

The old vampire scowled, but creepy man hummed thoughtfully.

"This sounds more like it would affect the North American vampires, than the rest of us." he said finally. 

Alice shook her head. "No, I've seen it. If Bella dies here, then you will have a war you cannot handle on your hands."

Creepy Man extended his hand. "Care to show me?"

Alice slipped off the gloves she had been wearing, and offered her hand to him. 

She stood stoically before him, also not grunting. Huh. So, that just confirmed her 'Edward is a pussy theory'. Nice.

"Looks like you have a point." Creepy Man said as he let Alice go. 

Bella pulled her friend closer to her by her shirt. She didn't like the vampire standing to close to that unnerving smile. 

A vampire behind Creepy Man groaned into his propped hand. "So? Are we killing her, or not? Heidi is going to be here soon. I'd like to wrap this up."

"Calm down, I have decided." Creepy Man reassured his friend. "In order to avoid that, truly chilling future Alice showed me, fantastic power, by the way, I'd love to know more about it, I think it is in our best interest to let Bella go, with the knowledge that if she does tell anyone about us, she will be killed immediately."

Bella sucked in a breath. "That's reasonable enough."

Creepy Man smiled wider. "Wonderful. I must say, I'm glad you unique gift lives to see another day."

"Uh, thanks?"

Creepy Man nodded. "Boys, escort the kind people out."

The men that had been holding Alice down opened the doors for them, and all three left. 

Edward was once again breathing down her neck, but she was too preoccupied by her thoughts to dwell on that for long. 

Now that she was out of immediate danger, she let herself think about what Alice had said. Imprinted? Mate? She didn't like the sound of that. That's what Laurent had called her. It left a bad taste in her mouth. 

She was so focused on this, she missed the heard of people being led to their deaths. Alice was glad. 

They didn't have to go back in the elevator, thankfully, just down a hallway. 

Alice directed them to the car, and unlocked it. 

"Get in the back, Edward. Do you have a hotel room around here?"

He nodded, and gave directions.

Imprint. Imprint. What the hell did that mean?

In what seemed like a second, they pulled up to a ridiculously fancy building, and went inside.

Bella plopped down onto a lavish bed, still oblivious to the world around her.

"-lla? Bella, are you listening?"

She looked up. "Huh?"

Alice took a deep breath. "I didn't want you to find out like this, but I had a vision after I met Jacob. 

He imprinted on you.

You're his soulmate."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bella in the movie: anxious, panicking, about to throw up, desperate to save Edward  
> bella here: lol guess i gotta save that bitches ass, wish i was getting paid


	13. the end of the line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> well folks, this was oodles of fun. if you thought that too, than keep an eye out for my eclipse rewrite that might as well be original work at this point. enjoy the final chapter!

Soulmate. That’s what imprinting means.

It means Jacob saw her and his, uh, fucking soul? marked her as an… important person in his life? And her soul was marked too? So now they have… soul marks?

Dammit, she wanted to at least be able to see it if she had some weird ass destiny mark.

“If you and Jacob sit down, and meditate, when you enter a deep enough state, your partners mark will appear to you.”

Okay, that was a valid reason to get a tattoo.

Alice had done her best to explain what it was, but, she honestly didn’t know.

So, Bella was sitting in Emily’s house, getting a more accurate definition.

“Have you and Sam done that?” she asked, hands wrapped around a cup of tea.

Emily nodded. “I got a sun, and he got a moon. I found it amusing, considering the lore around werewolves.”

Bella smiled. “That is a funny coincidence.”

She raised her fingers and began to count them off. “Let’s see, Embry and Quill got theirs done almost immediately, Jared refuses to let his little brother get one yet, since he’s only six, and Paul finds the tattoo his cousin drew for him insulting, which she finds insulting, which has led to a two month fight.”

Bella paused at that. “Wait, those last two, they’re family members.”

“That they are.” Emily tossed a muffin between her hands to cool it. “Imprinting doesn’t have to be romantic. It really doesn’t have to be anything. Nothing is guaranteed, except that you care a lot about each other, and you’ll keep each other safe.”

Bella squirmed in her seat. “I don’t know how I feel about this. I mean, does that make everything Jake and I have, fake? Just another werewolf power?”

“No, of course not!” Emily exclaimed. “Bella, you don’t imprint when you first meet, at least not always. With family that is more often the case, but for you and Jacob, it most likely happened when you first started hanging out again. When he realized he wanted you in his life, for as long as possible.”

Bella blushed fiercely. “Oh. Cool.”

“And, it only works if the feeling is mutual.”

Bella choked on her tea. “What? I mean, yeah, I do want him around, but come on-”

Emily interrupted her with a laugh. “I’m kidding. You really think babies can decide something like that? It’s all on the wolfs part.”

“Jerk.” Bella muttered as she wiped her mouth. “Can you, uh, un-imprint on someone? If you hate them suddenly?”

Emily shook her head, and her expression tightened. “No, unfortunately not. It’s been said to be a great source of guilt for partners that it’s happened to.”

“Great.”

Emily moved to ruffle her hair. “That won’t happen to you and Jacob. You two are too willing to talk things out for something like that to happen.”

Bella shrugged. “You got me there. I’ll die before I’ll let that boy keep his feelings from me.”

“Clearly,” Emily smirked.

Bella stuck her tongue out at her.

“Alright, Emily, you’ve kept her long enough.” Jacob stormed in through the door. “This is ridiculous. Insane. Cruel, even.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Jacob Elliot Black, it has been fifteen minutes. Have some patience.”

“Elliot?”

“Also not my middle name.” Jacob scowled at Emily, but his mouth twitched. “And how dare you expect me to wait fifteen minutes, after I had to wait three whole ass days while she was stuck in Italy with fucking vampires, for you two to finish your secret talk.”

“Alice was a dream, you whore, don’t group her with them.”

He pointed to Bella. “Stuck in Italy with a bunch of vampires and her dear friend Alice, while I sat here having five and a half panic attacks, so don’t act like I’m overreacting.”

“Jacob you took one puff of Jared’s cigarette, took a nap, and built some perches for Willis. That is not five panic attacks, that’s having trust in your friend.”

“Don’t undermine my feelings!” Jacob wailed.

“Holy shit, I swear you’re twelve.” Bella groaned.

“Uh, twelve and a half, you bitch.” Jacob beamed at her.

Bella relaxed under his warm gaze. Despite Victoria still being a threat, Jacob finally seemed like his usual self again. Happy, jokey, and beautiful.

Uh, shit, she didn’t mean that-

“Come on, Bella.” Jacob bounced on his feet. “We told Charlie you’d be back by four.”

“Fine,” Bella moaned. “Thanks, Emily. I’ll see you Sunday, for the funeral.”

Emily waved. “I expect to see you Tuesday, too. It’s been a while since I’ve worked the shop, you’ll have to give me a refresh.”

“Will do!” Bella hopped off her chair and followed Jacob outside.

As it turns out, Emily used to be good friends with Martha’s daughter, and had helped her around the shop. She volunteered only, no payment, but she knew enough of how things ran for Martha to leave the shop to her in her will. Emily promised as soon as Bella was old enough, she would take over the shop, and Bella couldn’t wait.

“Hop on,” Jacob grinned at her from a top Samantha.

Neither of them blamed her for the crash, and both decided to start taking actual bike lessons.

They hadn’t, yet, so they were still in the winging it stages, but they were going to.

Bella threw her leg over, and clicked on her helmet. Safety first, and all that.

Once she confirmed she was all set, Jacob took off.

Bella couldn’t get over how amazing it felt to ride the bike, and she hoped she never did. It was just so fucking cool, she almost never wanted to get off.

“Shall I go faster?” Jacob asked cockily.

“Sure, if you want to kill us.”

Jacob pouted. “I’m not that bad.”

“You are, but it’s not your fault.”

Jacob relented. “Fair enough. Though, when we finish our classes, I’m gonna go so fast-”

“Jake, lookout!”

He swerved violently to avoid the man standing on the road, and they crashed.

Thankfully, she wasn’t injured. Which, huh. That was really odd, actually. Maybe it was an imprint thing? The universe working to keep them safe-

“Bella, are you hurt?”

A thought for later.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” she looked around. Jacob was pinned under the bike.

“Shit, Jake!” she grunted, but moved the machine off of him. “Goddammit, Samantha, that is your father you are crushing!”

She managed to shift it off of him, and he exhaled in relief.

“Fuck, that hurt.”

“Are you okay? Is anything broken?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“You won’t be when I’m done with you.”

Bella whirled around.

There he was, the sparkly bitch boy himself in all his glory.

“What the fuck do you want, Edward?” she growled.

Jacob actually growled behind her, and she knew without looking he had shifted.

Edward raised his hands, and smiled condescendingly. “You’re making a mistake, Bella. I can see you’re still hurt, and confused. But you don’t need this filth to make me jealous. I’m ready to beg for forgiveness. I’m ready for things to go back to normal. Come on, let’s end this silly game. We’ve had our time apart, it’s time for us to take our rightful places back at each other's side.”

Bella blanked. “Are you fucking serious?”

His face hardened. “Pardon?”

“Edward, forget that you fucking left! I look back at the time I spent with you, and I am fucking ashamed! I hate who I used to be! I feel nothing but pity for the poor girl who thought she needed something like you to give her meaning. Edward, I didn’t want to be human anymore! I was ready to sacrifice everything to follow you like some lovesick child! Because that’s what I was! And you took advantage of that. You’re fucking disgusting. I never want to see you again. So fuck off, Edward Cullen. Fuck off right to hell.”

Edwards face cleared of all emotion. Jacob’s growl increased in volume.

“I can see the time apart has had more of an affect on you than I initially expected. In all honesty, I thought you would beg for me back. No matter, I’ll get you back anyways.”

“Did you actually not hear a fucking word I just said? Go! The fuck! Away!”

Edward chuckled, actually fucking chuckled, and moved Bella to his side of the road in a flash.

“Fuck!”

He held her tightly in his grasp. “Don’t worry, Love. I will bring you back. I will make you see reason.”

“Fuck you, Cullen.” she hissed, and pulled a lighter out of her jean pocket.

He howled when the flame touched him, and let her go immediately. She kicked him, hard, in the stomach, and then turned on her heel.

“If I ever fucking see you again, you’ll be up against more than a lighter. Keep that in mind.”

He writhed on the ground, screeching in agony as he tried to put out the flame.

Deciding to come back for Samantha later, she climbed onto Jacob, and told him to run.

He did, after one warning snap at Edward.

They took off into the treeline, until they stopped beside a stream.

“Shit.” Bella slid off of him and collapsed on the forest floor. She slipped off the pair of gym shorts she had decided to start wearing for situations like this, and threw them to Jacob.

“Damn, that was intense.” Jacob caught the shorts in his wolf mouth and changed behind a tree.

“No shit. Fuck, we’re going to have to deal with him again, aren’t we?”

Jacob was silent.

“Jake? What do you make of this whole Edward thing? Should we tell the pack?”

She still didn’t even see him.

“What, don’t tell me you found another vampire already.” she joked, and got up to look for him.

He was standing behind the tree, shorts on, mouth agape.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” she quirked a brow.

“You- you responded to my thoughts,” he mumbled. “Only the pack can do that. Well, the pack and…”

Bella’s eyes widened. “Fuck, that’s right, you don’t know. Well, uh, Jacob, I have some news.

Apparently, we’re wolf soulmates.”


End file.
